The Impact of the Military Coup in Gabon on the Oil Markets

With two charts

Source: Research Gate

Immediately after announcing that President Ali Bongo had won a third term, a military coup took place this morning.   This is the eighth military coup in the region. It looks like a rebellion against France’s dominance in the region with a tilt toward Russia and China.   

Gabon is an oil producer and an OPEC member. Its oil production has been recovering nicely in recent months despite OPEC cuts as shown in Figure (1) below. Its production exceeded 210,000 b/d in July according to OPEC.