Equatorial Guinea’s Hydrocarbons and Mining Development Minister, Antonio Oburu Ondo, has announced a new oil and gas licensing round for 2026, dubbed EGRonda 2026. 

EGRonda 2026 will open 24 blocks to global exploration and production (E&P) companies and offer enhanced fiscal terms aimed at increasing exploration and profitability. 

The government will maintain its open-door policy, which will allow companies to directly apply and negotiate contracts until the launch of the new licensing round. 

This approach, however, will not apply to the mining sector, which will continue under the existing framework, said the statement. 

According to Reuters, the proposed licensing round is part of the government’s efforts to boost exploration and address declining oil output. 

Equatorial Guinea, a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), currently operates six producing fields with companies such as Chevron Trident Energy, ConocoPhillips and state-owned GEPetrol. 

The nation’s oil production peaked at 241,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in 2010 but has since decreased to 55,000bopd in 2023, according to OPEC's 2024 statistical review. 

The International Monetary Fund projects modest annual economic growth of 0.9% from 2025 to 2030, primarily due to decreasing hydrocarbon production. 

Chevron recently announced that its subsidiary, Noble Energy, has reached an agreement with Equatorial Guinea to develop the Aseng gas project in Block I of the Douala Basin. 

The Aseng gas project, requiring an initial investment of approximately $690m, aims to sustain liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to global markets. 

In addition, Equatorial Guinea is collaborating with Nigeria on the Gulf of Guinea Gas Pipeline and is developing the EG-27 LNG project. 

Supported by Afreximbank, the EG-27 project could produce 2.4 million tonnes per annum of LNG over two decades. This project focuses on the Ebano field. 

Oburu Ondo told an African energy conference in Cape Town: “This ronda (licensing round) will be launched in the second quarter of 2026 right after the details of timelines, application procedures and further information will be available.”