Gabon has commissioned the first phase of the Mayumba gas-to-power plant, a new 8.5-megawatt (MW) gas-fired facility aimed at easing persistent electricity shortages in the country’s southern region and signalling a broader shift across Africa toward natural gas-based power generation. The facility was handed over to the Gabonese state on January 23, 2026, in a public-private partnership involving the Gabonese government, Gabon Power Company (Société d’Énergie et d’Eau du Gabon) and Perenco Gabon, a major oil and gas producer operating offshore in the country.
The first phase of the Mayumba project, developed at a cost of around 17.8 billion CFA francs (about US$31 million USD), brings 8.5 MW of new capacity online, providing immediate relief to communities in Mayumba and neighbouring areas that have long suffered from intermittent power and energy deficits. Although modest in scale, the plant is expected to improve reliability and help reduce the frequency of outages that have hampered local economic activity and quality of life.
Plans are already underway to expand the facility’s capacity in subsequent phases. A second phase is expected to increase output to 20 MW, with a long-term goal of reaching 50 MW once supporting infrastructure, including the Mayumba–Tchibanga transmission line, is completed.
Perenco Gabon is supplying the natural gas feedstock from its offshore operations for the power plant, aligning the energy project with national priorities to monetise domestic gas resources and reduce gas flaring. Speaking on the milestone, Christophe Le Blanc, CEO of Perenco, said the project “demonstrates the company’s ability to act as a development partner, aligning its industrial operations with Gabon’s energy sovereignty.”
Gas power in Africa’s energy mix
Across sub-Saharan Africa, natural gas is increasingly seen as a bridge fuel to strengthen electricity access and grid stability while countries expand investments in solar, wind and hydroelectric capacity. Gas-fired plants provide baseload power, continuous, reliable electricity, that complements renewable energy, which can be intermittent without adequate storage solutions.
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Several African countries have already pushed forward with gas-to-power projects:
- Nigeria, Africa’s largest gas producer, has expanded gas-based generation through facilities such as the Azura-Edo power plant (450 MW).
- Senegal is developing gas-fired plants linked to the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim offshore gas project, targeting around 300 MW of capacity that could significantly reshape the national grid.
- Egypt has added thousands of megawatts of gas-fired capacity over the past decade, helping to stabilise its electricity supply and support economic growth.
For Gabon and other gas-producing nations, projects like the Mayumba plant offer dual benefits: improving domestic electricity supply and reducing wasteful gas flaring by redirecting fuel into productive use. While the continent still faces major energy access challenges, with more than 40 percent of Africans lacking electricity access, gas-to-power initiatives are positioned to play a key role in narrowing that gap as part of diversified national energy strategies.
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