After three months of activity in 2024, according to the latest Sectoral Economic Outlook Note from the Ministry of the Economy, the consolidated production of extractive activities recorded a decrease of 4.5%, quarter-on-quarter. A poor performance resulting from the fall in manganese production over the period under study. This is all the more so since the other branches (oil, natural gas and manganese) were relatively well oriented.
The Ministry of Economy and Investments, through its General Directorate of Economy and Fiscal Policies (DGEPF), recently delivered its latest Sectoral Economic Outlook. Analyzing the performance of extractive industries, such as the production of manganese, oil and natural gas, we note that this sector was slowed down by the production of manganese, which recorded a drop of 4.5%. On the other hand, the index jumped by 23.2% on a year-on-year basis, fueled this time by all branches.
In fact, regarding the oil sector, over the first three months of 2024, its production index consolidated by 3.1%, quarter-on-quarter. The document explains that ” this performance is explained by the ramp-up of new wells and the good performance of mature fields following the various investments made “. In this context, it should be recalled that over the same period last year, the index jumped by 18.4% for the same reasons.
Manganese production, the Note points out, fell sharply by 23.9% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter. This change is explained by disruptions to the evacuation of ore following damage to the railway line which had a profound impact on production. ” Thus, in order to stick to budgets, companies have made up for lost time ,” the document specifies. Reported in the first quarter of 2023, production increased very sharply by 42.4%, mainly driven by Comilog which achieved a record first quarter compared to the historical average.
For marketed natural gas, for the third consecutive quarter, the production index has appreciated. Indeed, at the end of the first months of 2024, it gained 5.0%. ” This result is explained by a good orientation of demand, in particular that coming from SEEG -Société d’énergie et d’eau du Gabon- and the Société de Patrimoine which represents on average 83% over the period (with a peak of 89.6% in March 2024)”, reveals the Sector Economic Outlook Note .
