News Industry

Gabon: VAALCO Plans New Etame Well After Failed Exploration

Gabon: VAALCO Plans New Etame Well After Failed Exploration
Tuesday, 10 March 2026 14:00
  • VAALCO exploration well offshore Gabon fails to find commercial oil
  • ET-14P well encountered water in Gamba formation reservoir
  • Company plans sidetrack drilling to target producing Etame field section

U.S. oil company VAALCO Energy said an exploration well drilled on its offshore Etame permit off the coast of Gabon failed to find commercially viable oil. In an operational update released on Monday, March 9, the company said well ET-14P, drilled on the Etame West structure, did not confirm commercial quantities of hydrocarbons.

VAALCO said the well, part of the third phase of its Etame field drilling programme, encountered about 10 metres of reservoir sand within the Gamba formation. However, the target zone was found to contain mostly water rather than oil.

The company said the lower section of the well will be plugged and abandoned, but it plans to reuse the existing wellbore. VAALCO intends to sidetrack the well and drill a new development well designated ET-14H, targeting a section of the Etame field that is already in production.

The offshore Etame field is VAALCO's flagship asset in Gabon, where the company has operated platforms and producing wells since the early 2000s. The permit produces more than 15,000 barrels of oil per day, according to company results published in 2025.

The setback comes as VAALCO pursues a near- and medium-term growth strategy. Investor presentations released in 2025 show the company is targeting a roughly 50% increase in production by the second half of 2026, with a longer-term goal of surpassing 50,000 barrels per day by 2030.

The growth is expected to come from reserves already identified within the company's portfolio as well as new exploration opportunities. Planned initiatives include a 2026 drilling campaign at Port-Bouët in Côte d'Ivoire and continued development of the Venus project in Equatorial Guinea.

Producing assets remain central to the strategy. In Gabon, the Etame Marin offshore permit is one of the group's main production contributors. In late February 2026, Agence Ecofin reported that VAALCO had brought a new well online at Etame, designated ET-15H-ST, with an initial flow rate of about 2,000 barrels per day as part of ongoing development operations on the permit.

Abdel-Latif Boureima

On the same topic
BP acquires 60% stake in three offshore exploration blocks Move follows growing interest from majors like TotalEnergies and Chevron Namibia...
Vitol will invest $130 million via Vivo Energy to expand fuel storage in Durban. The project aims to double capacity to 500,000 m³ and strengthen...
Thor Explorations plans to publish an optimized prefeasibility study incorporating new exploration results. The company targets a final investment...
Kodal Minerals produces 26,981 tonnes of spodumene concentrate in Q1 Exports reach about 69,000 tonnes, generating $51 million in revenue Mine...
Most Read
01

EBID aims to allocate nearly 41% of its commitments to environmentally and socially impactful projec...

EBID Charts Green Shift to Finance West Africa’s Growth
02

M-PESA evolves into major financial platform with 35 million users Telecoms, fintechs expan...

In Africa, Banks Face a New Rival: Telecom Operators
03

Algeria launches bid for two NGSO satellite telecom licenses Move aims to expand broadband ac...

Algeria Opens Satellite Market to Competition, Inviting Global Operators
04

Driven by above-average growth and rapidly expanding demographics, Francophone Africa is emerging as...

Francophone Africa: A Rising Economic Giant With Weak Internal Trade
05

Coca-Cola unit trains 260+ SMEs in Namibia business skills Program targets women, youth, disabled...

Over 260 Namibian SME Owners Trained as Sector Faces Mounting Losses
Enter your email to receive our newsletter

Ecofin Agency provides daily coverage of nine key African economic sectors: public management, finance, telecoms, agribusiness, mining, energy, transport, communication, and education.
It also designs and manages specialized media, both online and print, for African institutions and publishers.

SALES & ADVERTISING

regie@agenceecofin.com 
Tél: +41 22 301 96 11 
Mob: +41 78 699 13 72


EDITORIAL
redaction@agenceecofin.com

More information
Team
Publisher

ECOFIN AGENCY

Mediamania Sarl
Rue du Léman, 6
1201 Geneva
Switzerland

 

Ecofin Agency is a sector-focused economic news agency, founded in December 2010. Its web platform was launched in June 2011. ©Mediamania.

 
 

Please publish modules in offcanvas position.