Guinea - Country Commercial Guide
Oil and Gas
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Overview

Via a December 2021 decree, the transition government created Société Nationale des Petroles (SONAP) (National Petroleum Company) to import, store, transport, distribute, and sell fuel, effectively nationalizing the fuel sector. SONAP now manages all upstream and downstream operations in the petroleum sector including directing strategy for petroleum exploration. This decree replaced Guinea’s first oil refinery is currently under construction in the mining region of Kamsar.

The national petroleum agency (SONAP) sets the price of gasoline at the retail level, subsidizing prices to ease the burden on consumers and changing prices according to the demands of international lenders and the global price of gasoline. The transition government increased the price of fuel from 10,000 GNF/liter to 12,000 GNF/liter (equivalent to USD 1.37/liter) as of June 1, 2022.

Guinea’s reliance of crude oil imports means it is impacted by international price shocks and disruptions in fuel deliveries can provoke fuel shortages. Major consumers include mining companies, retail gasoline stations, and the state-owned electric utility’s diesel generators.

Leading Sub-Sectors

The extent of Guinea’s potential oil and gas reserves remains unknown, but promising. A U.S.-owned firm conducted oil exploration studies off Guinea’s coast. In February 2012, their first exploratory well uncovered oil of a non-commercial quality. In September 2017, their second exploratory offshore drilling reportedly did not find commercially exploitable quantities of oil. In December 2018, the U.S. firm filed for bankruptcy after an investor pulled out of a deal to buy a majority stake in the company, following unsuccessful offshore drilling. In December 2018, the government turned down the U.S. company’s license extension request. Other companies still believe there is commercially viable oil to be found, though no companies are actively searching.

Opportunities

The Guinean government is assessing ways to repair its dilapidated energy grid and may seek new avenues to access petroleum products for its power plants to diversify its energy sources.

The National Petroleum Agency (SONAP) is also seeking investments in offshore oil & gas exploration in Guinea.

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