E/Guinea produces 520,000 barrels of oil daily

Equatorial Guinea’s Prime Minister Vicente Ehate Tomi said Wednesday that his country produced 520,000 barrels of oil a day, in what would be a huge leap in output.

Speaking at the 15th Gulf of Guinea Oil and Gas Conference in Malabo, Ehate Tomi said Equatorial Guinea was sub-Saharan Africa’s third oil producer, behind Nigeria and Angola.

The west African country’s oil production was previously thought to hover around 320,000 bpd and the prime minister did not explain how the national output had suddenly surged to a new record level.

The west African country is ruled by the continent’s longest-serving leader, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, and is chronically criticised for its human rights violations and corruption.

Around a quarter of Equatorial Guinea’s oil production is bought by the United States.

Obiang’s son Teodorin, whom he recently appointed second vice president and is seen as being groomed for succession, has made the headlines in recent years for his lavish lifestyle.

The 41-year-old faces a complaint in the United States and a probe in France over the source of his extraordinary wealth.

According to the US Department of Justice, he spent $300 million on four different continents between 2000 and 2011 on mansions, cars and other luxury goods.