Angola is preparing to launch additional multi-year oil and gas licensing rounds starting in 2026, aiming to boost production and attract more investment, a senior official from the country’s petroleum regulator told Reuters on Thursday.
This follows Angola’s current multi-year licensing rounds for 2019-2025, during which 50 onshore and offshore exploration blocks were made available. Now, the country is focusing on future licensing opportunities beyond 2025.
“We’ve already started planning for the period after 2025 and are actively working on our exploration strategy, which involves evaluating various sedimentary basins in the country,” said Alcides Andrade, a board member of Angola’s National Agency of Petroleum, Gas, and Biofuels (ANPG).
Angola’s oil production peaked in 2008 at around 2 million barrels per day (bpd). However, output has steadily declined due to underinvestment in offshore resources, caused in part by high development costs. As a result, many oil companies have turned away from Angola, considering it less attractive for new investments.
The country is aiming to reverse this trend and increase its current oil production, which stands at about 1.1 million bpd. This goal was a key factor in Angola’s decision to leave OPEC in January 2024, following disagreements over production quotas with other OPEC and OPEC+ members. In June 2023, Angola and Nigeria were assigned lower production quotas after both countries consistently failed to meet their targets in recent years. This decision to exit OPEC marked a turning point for Angola as it seeks to revive its oil sector.
In a sign of renewed interest in the region, U.S. oil giant Chevron recently announced it is acquiring exploration blocks offshore Angola and Nigeria. The company aims to tap into what it views as an underexplored, hydrocarbon-rich region of West Africa.
“West Africa is a highly promising area for hydrocarbons but is relatively under-explored compared to other regions,” said Liz Schwarze, Chevron’s Vice President of Global Exploration, in an interview with Bloomberg this week.
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