Gabon Drops Three Firms from Offshore Oil Talks

Three companies previously named as winners in an offshore oil licensing round in Gabon have been dropped from the list, Gabon's oil mininster said on Wednesday.

The three firms were Noble, Cobalt and Elenilto.

"The offshore requires huge investment and the companies turned down did not meet those requirements," oil minister Etienne Ngoubou told reporters.

"Total has been called in for discussions with the body in charge of negotiations," Ngoubou said. Total was not previously named as a winner in the October 2013 licensing round.

(Reporting by Jean Rovys Dabany; Writing by Emma Farge, editing by David Evans)