The Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons has commended international oil services companies Schlumberger and TechnipFMC on their proactive measures taken to comply with Equatorial Guinea’s local content regulations.

“Both Schlumberger and TechnipFMC have a long history of working in our country, and their recent engagement with local companies, commitment to train, develop and promote our citizens as well as setting up a robust workplace nationalization program demonstrates their willingness to ensure that benefits of oil contracts are shared with our citizens.” said H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons. “I want urge the entire industry to continue with our policy of building a culture of compliance. We will continue to be flexible and will continue working on making our country the best place for oil companies to operate in the region.”

The announcement follows the decision, earlier this week, to cancel all contracts awarded to international oil services firm Subsea 7 for failure to comply with local content rules in Equatorial Guinea.

National content provisions in Equatorial Guinea are set out in the 2014 National Content Regulations, under which contractors must notably register with the Ministry’s local content department and give preference to local companies.

The Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons is currently completing a local content compliance audit to assess efforts taken by operators and contractors towards local content compliance.