Equatorial Guinea Power Ministry Gets 1 Week
EQUATORIAL GUINEA · ENERGY
Key Facts
- —What is happening Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue chaired a meeting in Malabo on Wednesday, 14 October, and gave the Ministry of Electricity one week to propose how SEGESA, the state electricity company, should manage the country’s power plants.
- —Why it matters Power cuts in Malabo and a shortage of spare parts have drawn repeated government orders since September 2025, and the new deadline is the latest step in a review of the state utility in an oil and gas exporter.
- —The numbers The deadline is one week, which points to about Wednesday, 21 October if counted from the meeting, and officials must study a one-year stock of spare parts; an earlier audit flagged contracts above 600 million CFA francs (about US$1.0 million).
- —Who is who SEGESA is the state-owned company that supplies and sells electricity, the Ministry of Electricity is the government department for the sector, and the vice president, a son of President Obiang, has led several SEGESA reviews since September 2025.
- —What to watch The ministry’s proposals are due in about a week, and the open question is which power plants would move under SEGESA’s responsibility and what that transfer would cost.
- —What it means for you No change has been announced for US travellers or companies, and US oil and gas firms such as ConocoPhillips and Chevron are neither named in the order nor linked to the power problems.
Equatorial Guinea’s vice president has given the Ministry of Electricity one week to propose how the state utility SEGESA should be run. The order follows a meeting on Wednesday, 14 October, about unpaid supplier bills and missing spare parts.
Equatorial Guinea has given its power ministry one week to submit plans for running the state utility SEGESA. Vice President Nguema Obiang Mangue set the deadline on Wednesday, 14 October, at a meeting in Malabo.
The vice presidency’s press office announced the decision on Thursday, 15 October, and the local news site AhoraEG carried the same account. The texts describe a meeting at the Palacio del Pueblo with the prime minister, ministry officials and SEGESA’s management.
What the Power Ministry Must Propose
The Ministry of Electricity must propose how to place the country’s power plants formally under SEGESA’s responsibility. The aim, the press office says, is to clarify who is responsible and to control generation, maintenance and distribution costs.
Officials were also told to contact suppliers based in the country about transformers, cables and other essential equipment. They must study agreements to hold a year of stock, subject to government approval, so repairs do not wait for purchases.
The meeting reviewed SEGESA’s economic and operational position, with a focus on maintenance costs and payments still owed to suppliers. A shortage of materials and spare parts was named as one of the causes of electrical faults.
Neither text gives an outage count, a debt figure or a budget, and neither says when the one-week count starts. Counting from the meeting points to about Wednesday, 21 October.
What SEGESA Is and Why It Matters
SEGESA is the Sociedad Eléctrica de Guinea Ecuatorial, the state-owned company that supplies and sells electricity in the country. The vice president is a son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, and the Ministry of Electricity is the sector’s department.
Equatorial Guinea is a small oil and gas producer on Africa’s west coast, and its capital, Malabo, lies on Bioko island. SEGESA also works in Bata, the main city on the mainland.
The company has been under review for years, and EcoMatin dates a full restructuring to October 2023. In January 2025, EcoMatin adds, a government committee found that SEGESA could not supply complete financial data for recent years.
The Outages and Earlier Deadlines
On 2 September 2025 the vice president ordered an audit of SEGESA, EcoMatin reported, citing the government’s own website. He reviewed a preliminary report on 20 October 2025, and EcoMatin published its account two days later.
That report flagged contracts above 600 million CFA francs (about US$1.0 million) with firms whose business did not match, EcoMatin said. Real Equatorial Guinea carried the figure from the vice president’s X post, and EcoMatin said the director general asked for more documents.
Conversions use the euro peg of 655.957 CFA francs per euro and the 16 October euro rate, about 585 per US$. No other local-currency amounts appear here.
On 18 November 2025 the vice president gave SEGESA and the ministry four days to restore power to Malabo districts, AhoraEG reported. Cuts there had run since early the previous week after a station failure, and Luba had been dark for over six months.
That order also required a permanent stock of electrical materials and an urgent study of a “full oil” generation system. The study was meant to reduce dependence on Turbogas generation, and sanctions were threatened if the deadline was missed.
On 14 January 2026 the prime minister chaired a meeting on supply stability, maintenance and rising demand, Real Equatorial Guinea reported. On 15 January SEGESA announced rotating Malabo cuts of about 13 days for Turbogas plant maintenance, the same outlet said.
On 3 February 2026 the vice president ordered a special account for Gabon’s payments for Equatorial Guinean electricity, AhoraEG reported. The same report said a bearing repair needed about ten days and a transformer for Luba would arrive within 90 days.
The October order therefore echoes the stock rule set in November 2025. What it adds is the proposed transfer of the power plants to SEGESA’s responsibility.
The Oil and Gas Link
Equatorial Guinea relies heavily on oil and gas, and US companies hold large stakes in its gas plants. ConocoPhillips told the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it operates the Alba Unit offshore with a 64.2% interest.
ConocoPhillips also owns 56.0% of Equatorial Guinea LNG, an export plant with 3.7 million tonnes of annual capacity. State gas firm SONAGAS holds 37.9% of the plant.
ConocoPhillips says it completed its acquisition of Marathon Oil on 22 November 2024. That deal added oil, gas and LNG activity in Equatorial Guinea to its portfolio.
Chevron holds 27.8% of Alba Plant LLC, the same filing says, against 52.2% for ConocoPhillips and 20.0% for SONAGAS. In February 2021 a Chevron subsidiary, Noble Energy EG, announced first gas from the Alen field to the Punta Europa plants.
None of the texts on the 14 October meeting names these operators or says oil or gas output was affected. The link is background, not a finding.
What It Means for US Readers
The order concerns the country’s electricity plants, and no text says it touches oil or gas facilities. Companies dealing with SEGESA should watch the power ministry’s proposals, since no text announces a tender, loan or contract.
The US State Department rates Equatorial Guinea Level 2, exercise increased caution, citing crime, health and arbitrary law enforcement. The advisory, updated on 5 November 2025, does not mention electricity or power cuts.
Local outlets described cuts in Malabo in November 2025 and January 2026, so travellers may wish to ask hotels about back-up power. Earlier coverage is in Equatorial Guinea Turns 58, Obiang Slams Online Critics.
Background on the oil economy and leadership is in Equatorial Guinea Explained 2026: Oil, Obiang and a New Capital. A separate state television project case is in Equatorial Guinea Graft Defendants Appeal 2 Rulings, where the defendants are presumed innocent.
What Is Not Known
The texts do not say which power plants would move under SEGESA, who runs them today or what the transfer would cost. They also give no outage figures, no debt total and no budget for spare parts.
It is not known whether the earlier orders worked, including the November 2025 stock rule. The texts read do not say whether the transformer promised for Luba in February 2026 arrived.
Both accounts of the 14 October meeting trace to the vice presidency’s press office, so they are not independent confirmation. No decree, ministry reply or separate reporting was available to check.
AhoraEG also reported on 14 October that Gepetrol and Tradex expect new petrol and diesel cargoes on 21 to 23 October. No text links those deliveries to the power cuts.
What Comes Next
The power ministry’s proposals fall due in about a week, which points to Wednesday, 21 October if counted from the meeting. The vice president has chaired repeated meetings on SEGESA since September 2025, so further orders are possible.
A plan on paper does not end the cuts, since a spare-parts shortage is a supply problem. It also does not change the ownership of SEGESA, which remains state-owned.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is SEGESA?
SEGESA is Equatorial Guinea’s state-owned electricity company, which supplies and sells power in the country. The government has reviewed its management repeatedly since an audit was ordered in September 2025.
What did the government decide on 14 October?
The vice president gave the Ministry of Electricity one week to propose putting the country’s power plants under SEGESA’s responsibility. Officials were also told to study agreements with local suppliers to keep a year of spare parts in stock.
Was this a cabinet decision?
The texts describe a meeting chaired by the vice president, not a Council of Ministers vote. The prime minister, ministry officials and SEGESA management attended, and the press office announced it on Thursday, 15 October.
Does this affect US oil companies in Equatorial Guinea?
No text says so. ConocoPhillips and Chevron hold stakes in gas plants at Punta Europa, but the order concerns the national electricity plants.
Is Equatorial Guinea safe for US travellers?
The US State Department rates it Level 2, exercise increased caution, citing crime, health and arbitrary enforcement of local laws. Check the current advisory before booking, since the page was last updated on 5 November 2025.
When is the next step?
The ministry’s proposals are due within a week, which points to about Wednesday, 21 October. The texts do not say when the count starts; this date assumes the meeting of Wednesday, 14 October.
Sources: AhoraEG, 15 October 2026; Vice Presidency press office text on La Vice Press, 15 October 2026; AhoraEG on fuel deliveries, 14 October 2026; AhoraEG, 18 November 2025; AhoraEG, 4 February 2026; Real Equatorial Guinea, 15 January 2026; Real Equatorial Guinea on the Malabo cuts; EcoMatin, 3 September 2025; EcoMatin, 22 October 2025; Real Equatorial Guinea, 21 October 2025; ConocoPhillips Form 10-K for 2025; ConocoPhillips Form 10-K for 2024 (Marathon completion date); ConocoPhillips on Equatorial Guinea LNG; Chevron release on Alen gas; US State Department travel advisory (all accessed 16 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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