By Chris Lo
In November 2019, Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons announced the winning bids under the country’s EG Ronda 2019 licensing round. Nine hydrocarbon blocks were awarded to foreign firms alongside the country’s national oil company GEPetrol as the country – a member of OPEC and one of Africa’s largest oil exporters – works to reverse declining production rates and rebuild national reserves under its ‘drill or drop’ policy to encourage faster project development from investors.