Vaalco's Etame Field in Gabon: A Cautionary Tale of Reserve Depletion

The Vaalco Etame field in Gabon's offshore waters has been producing commercial crude oil since 2002, making it one of the longest-running offshore operations in the country. With cumulative output exceeding 100 million barrels, the field is a prime example of an asset that has reached maturity and is experiencing a natural decline in production.

The field produces through a Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessel system, which was reconfigured in 2022 to improve storage throughput, reduce logistical bottlenecks, and lower the frequency of off-take tanker visits. This infrastructure upgrade was crucial for reducing the cost per barrel of logistics.

The most striking data point attached to the Etame field is not its production rate but the reserve depletion figure. Approximately 90% of the field's recoverable reserves have already been extracted, and the field is projected to reach its economic production limit by around 2029 under current depletion trajectories.