Equatorial Guinea Is Said to Ban Oil-Services Company Subsea 7

(Bloomberg) -- Equatorial Guinea has banned oil-services company Subsea 7 SA from operating in the central African nation over local content rules, according to a person familiar with the situation.

TechnipFMC Plc and Schlumberger Ltd. have resolved all issues to do with local content, said the person, requesting anonymity because the information is not public. The OPEC member considered the exclusion of Subsea 7 along with TechnipFMC and Schlumberger because of a failure to meet the requirements, a government official said in September.

Subsea 7, Schlumberger and Technip didn’t immediately reply to emails and calls seeking comment. Oil ministry spokesman, Jacinto Nguema Owono, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Under Equatorial Guinea’s National Content Regulation of 2014, “all agreements must have local content clauses and provisions for capacity building, with preference given to local companies in the award of service contracts,” according to the ministry of mines and hydrocarbons.

Equatorial Guinea pumped 199,000 barrels a day of oil on average last year, according to data from BP Plc. That’s down from a peak of 380,000 in 2005. The country is keen to boost drilling and plans to offer about 12 blocks, including in deepwater areas, in a licensing round in January.

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