Upstream Operators to Detail Oil & Gas Project Outlook at Angola Oil & Gas 2024

Over the next five years, up to $60 billion is expected to be invested across Angola’s oil and gas industry as international oil companies, independent E&P firms and juniors seize new opportunities in onshore, offshore and marginal fields. To support national production targets of maintaining output above one million barrels per day (bpd), Angola’s upstream operators are expanding their portfolios through block acquisition while reinvesting in producing blocks to maximize reserves.

During the Angola Oil&Gas (AOG) conference – slated for October 2-3 in Luanda – Angola’s upstream operators will provide insight into their respective investment and project outlooks in Angola. Speakers from energy majors Chevron, ExxonMobil and bp will outline large-scale ventures while E&P firms Afentra and Etu Energias will detail current and future exploration campaigns.

AOG is the largest oil and gas event in Angola. Taking place with the full support of the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas; national oil company Sonangol; the National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency; the African Energy Chamber; and the Petroleum Derivatives Regulatory Institute, the event is a platform to sign deals and advance Angola’s oil and gas industry. To sponsor or participate as a delegate, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com.

Chevron is focused on developing existing blocks while unlocking frontier basins in the country’s deepwaters. In June 2024, the company signed two Risk Service Contracts (RSC) for Block 49 and Block 50 – situated in the Lower Congo Basin. Chevron will conduct seismic surveys across both blocks to improve the geological understanding of the acreage. The company also has interests in offshore Blocks 0 and 14 as well as in the Angola LNG plant. Billy Lacobie, Chevron’s Managing Director: Southern Africa, will provide an update on deepwater exploration during AOG 2024 as well as the company’s low carbon strategies in Angola.

Celebrating 30 years of operations in Angola, ExxonMobil is focused on maximizing output at producing assets while advancing frontier exploration. In 2024, the company made a discovery at the Likember-01 research well in Block 15, the first of the country’s incremental production initiative. Block 15 is one of Angola’s most successful assets, producing for 20 years and featuring 18 commercial discoveries. The new find showcases further developmental potential. Beyond existing assets, ExxonMobil is seeking play-opening finds in the Namibe Basin and could inject as much as $15 billion in the area following successful drilling. The company’s South Atlantic Exploration Manager Richard Barke and Managing Director for Angola Katrina Fisher will provide insight into these initiatives during AOG 2024.

Active in Angola since the 1970s, bp has spearheaded several major project developments in Angola. In 2022, the company merged its Angolan operations with that of energy major Eni’s, creating the country’s largest independent equity producer of oil and gas, Azule Energy. In 2023, Azule Energy signed RSCs for Blocks 46, 47 and 18/15 in the Lower Congo Basin while making FID on the Agogo Integrated West Hub Development – coming online in 2026. The company is also developing the country’s first non-associated gas project – the Quiluma and Maboqueiro fields – also coming online in 2026. Gordon Birrell, EVP Production&Operations at bp, will speak on bp’s expertise in the country while identifying future investment and production initiatives.

Angola’s largest private oil producer Etu Energias plans to produce 50,000 bpd by 2025 and 100,000 bpd by 2030. The company’s projects range from upstream developments to downstream production lines and is seeking new opportunities in exploration. Etu Energias secured $60 million in 2023 as part of a $190 million debt facility to finance the acquisition of a 20% interest in deepwater Block 14 and a 10% stake in Bock 14K. The company will also begin construction at a lubricant facility in 2025. During AOG 2024, CEO Edson dos Santos will detail asset acquisition, downstream investments and future partnership prospects.

Meanwhile, Afentra is strengthening its portfolio in Angola, having recently acquired interests in offshore Blocks 3/05 and 3/05A from Azule Energy. The company is conducting light well interventions to boost production at these blocks and is also in the final stages of acquiring interests in Blocks KON 15, KON 19 and 23. In 2024, Afentra sold its first Angolan cargo for the year of 450,000 bpd. During AOG 2024, Afentra’s COO Ian Cloke will unpack acquisition targets and production expectations.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital&Power.