Equatorial Guinea wins rights to islands following long dispute with Gabon

(Bloomberg) -- A top United Nations court ruled in favor of Equatorial Guinea in a long-running territorial dispute with Gabon, awarding it sovereignty over three small islands located in potentially oil-rich waters in the Gulf of Guinea. 

The case, brought before the International Court of Justice in 2021, centers on the Mbanie, Cocotiers and Conga islands, largely uninhabited isles just off Gabon’s Atlantic Ocean coast. The Hague-based court found that sovereignty over Mbanié and the two other islands lie with Equatorial Guinea.

By a majority decision of 13 to two the court ruled that the “legal titles invoked by the Gabonese Republic and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, the title that has the force of law in the relations between them in so far as it concerns sovereignty over the islands of Mbanié, Cocotiers and Conga, is the title held by the Kingdom of Spain on Oct. 12, 1968, to which the Republic of Equatorial Guinea succeeded.”

The court’s decision comes at a time when both central African nations are recalibrating their oil strategies.

Gabon has expanded its control over domestic energy production, acquiring Carlyle Group’s Assala Energy and and another asset from Tullow Oil Plc to boost state revenues since a 2023 military power grab.

Equatorial Guinea is aiming to become a regional infrastructure hub for hydrocarbons even as its reserves are dwindling after decades of heavy production that has propped up the regime of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Africa’s longest-serving leader.