Belarmino Chittargueleca, Executive Director for Angola’s national concessionaire and upstream regulator, the National Agency for Oil, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG), announced a number of changes and innovations – including drastic cuts in approval times – at the African Energy Week (AEW) (www.AECWeek.com) 2022 Conference and Exhibition in Cape Town. These changes showcase an improved oil and gas business environment in Angola.

Under the theme, ‘A new concessionaire offers a new way of doing business’, Chittargueleca offered a presentation on the current state of the Angolan oil and gas industry, stating that the regulator has succeeded in cutting red tape and streamlining the industry’s approval processes. It was noted during his presentation that negotiations for the obtention of exploration licenses could be expected to start and conclude in under 12 months.

“We have mature and high prospective assets, a stable political environment, and a lot of experience companies that are still there,” Chittargueleca stated during a panel discussion at AEW 2022, adding that, “The Government has set up new regulations and policies to make our country competitive and we are conducting a study on how to stay competitive to increase exploration partners and investments. Regionally, we will be sharing information with our brothers on how to boost exploration. We are willing to negotiate as well with interested investors to maximize investments across the industry and make Angola the final destination of energy capital. Previously, it took 18 months to close a deal, but now with the reforms enacted, it will take less than a year to sign new exploration and production deals.” https://bit.ly/3W4xM8B

Offering a new governance model for the oil and gas sector of Angola, the ANPG presented legal and fiscal reforms including the Presidential Legislative Decree 5/18 for the additional exploration of development and production areas; Presidential Legislative Decree 6/18 for marginal fields development; Presidential Legislative Decree 7/18, which establishes the legal and tax framework applicable to natural gas; Presidential Decree 51/19 for the general strategy for bidding oil and gas concessions between 2019 and 2025; and Presidential Decree 249/21 establishing the rules and procedures for the granting of petroleum concessions under permanent offer.

Fully committed to the development of sustainable hydrocarbon resources that supports the energy transition, the ANPG approved a strategy to assign more than 50 blocks over the next six years to promote the exploration and production of existing oil and gas fields in the country.

Angola currently has 16 concessions in the production phase, 11 concessions in the exploration phase, four deepwater concessions in the development phase, and 20 concessions – 15 onshore and 5 deepwater – under negotiations. Additionally, the southern African country holds 15 blocks in continuous offer with aims to award an additional 12 onshore blocks during the 2023 bidding cycle.