20091211

LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - The diversification of Gabon's economy is still a distant prospect and the nation will remain dependent on dwindling oil reserves for some time despite a raft of reforms promised by President Ali Ben Bongo.

Ben Bongo, who replaced his late father Omar in October, has vowed to invest billions of dollars to turn the Central African nation into a regional hub for industry, services and emerging environmental business sectors before the oil runs dry.

Ben Bongo's efforts to root out graft has won him early praise. But cutting red tape, developing infrastructure and nurturing industries are all long-haul tasks which mean the country and its leaders are in a race against time.

"Unless new discoveries are made in the very deep water in the next 15 years, there will be no more oil," Olivier Fremond, the World Bank's resident representative in Gabon, told Reuters.

"There is an urgent need for economic diversification. But this takes a long time and you have to do it prudently."

The former French colony once produced in excess of 350,000 barrels per day bpd but many of the wells are maturing and current output stands at around 240,000 barrels per day.

Nonetheless the government still hopes to boost output with a new licensing round next year and the International Monetary Fund estimates oil will still account for 45.7 percent of government receipts this year.

Ben Bongo has put diversification at the heart of ambitious reform plans that include spending at least 4.88 trillion CFA francs on investment projects over seven years.