Angola launches licensing strategy

Paulino Jerónimo, CEO of the National Agency of Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels

“The promotion of the blocks is starting immediately. The ANPG will embark on an international roadshow in September to engage with investors in Houston, London and Dubai prior to opening the tendering process in October. Our message to the global oil industry is simple: Angola is open for business. We are ready to seriously engage with existing and new players, be they international oil companies, national oil companies, independents and mid-sized operators and get them to explore in Angola, ,” said CEO of the National Agency of Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG), Paulino Jerónimo.

This is the first public auction in Angola since the pre-salt layer blocks auction of 2011, and the first of a series of licensing rounds that will see as many as 55 blocks put up for public bidding or direct negotiations until 2025. It follows the strategy set out under Presidential Decree No. 52/19 released last February to boost exploration, maximize reserves replacement and ultimately increase national production of oil & gas. The strategy maps the auctioning of 31 blocks under public bidding in 2019, 2020 and 2023. It is also the first to take place under the oversight of the ANPG.

The licensing round will be carried out under Angola Law No. 10/04 of November 12, 2004 (the Petroleum Activities Law, as amended by Law No. 5/19 of April 18, 2019), and Angola Presidential Decree No. 86/18 of April 2, 2018, which establishes the Rules and Procedures of Public Tenders, and Bidders’ eligibility to be in Association with the National Concessionaire and for the Procurement of Goods and Services in the oil sector.

As the new national concessionaire, the ANPG will notify shortly, through announcements on its website and in national and international media, the dates for the forthcoming roadshows where the agency will present technical information on the blocks to be offered.

Marginal Fields Bidding Round

This is not the only landmark bidding to be launched in Angola this year. The agency is also launching Angola’s first-ever Marginal Fields Bidding Round, which is attracting new and existing African players, international independents and medium-sized operators via the offering of more attractive fiscal terms. “Our new regulatory framework provides tax incentives for the exploration of marginal fields. Over the years, Angola has made several discoveries deemed too uneconomical for development. Our new fiscal and contractual terms are focused on incentivising the exploration and production of such reserves for both African and international medium-sized E&P companies

These upcoming licensing rounds, along with the Marginal Fields Bidding Round, place Angola as the number one African exploration frontier for years to come. This drive was President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço’s vision to reform the economy and overhaul the governance of Angola’s hydrocarbons sector, with the aim of increasing and replacing depleting reserves. Angola aims to “intensify the replacement of reserves in order to smooth the deep decline of oil production, ensure self-sufficiency in refined products by building new refineries and increase national production capacity."