By Macson Obojemuinmoin
Angola produced 30,059,033 barrels of oil in March 2023, corresponding to a daily average of 969,646 barrels of oil (BOPD).
This was 9% less than the 1,063,589BOPD produced in February 2023, according to data by Angola’s National Oil, Gas and Biofuel’s Agency (ANPG), the country’s hydrocarbon industry regulator.
Export for March 2023, published by the country’s ministry of finance portal, frequently consulted by Africa Oil+Gas Report, amounted to 950,460BOPD, which was a 9.5% drop from 1,050,866BOPD in February 2023.
The country’s revenues have also headed for a fall. “Angola exported 87.92Million barrels of oil for a total of $6.92Billion in the first quarter of 2023, which represents a 30% year on year decline”, the Portuguese news agency Lusa reports, quoting José Alexandre Barroso, Angola’s secretary of state for oil and gas. “In the first quarter of 2022, according to figures from the ministry for mineral resources, oil and gas consulted by Lusa, Angola exported 98.38Million barrels of oil at an average price of $103.83, generating revenues of $10.14Billion”, Lusa reported.
Angolan authorities’ concern about declining output has provided the impetus for a frenzied drive for acreage licencing rounds (there have been three lease sales in the last three years) and improved fiscal terms for oil majors in the country.
In the event, Azule Energy, the incorporated joint venture between ENI and BP, awarded, last February, $7.8Billion worth of contracts for commencement of construction of the second phase of its Agogo Integrated West Hub Development project in Block 15/06. The project, expected to be in operation by mid-2026, involves the installation of an FPSO with a production capacity of 120,000BOPD, gas injection capacity of 230MMscf/d and water injection capacity of 120,000BWPD.
The government has also approved the development plan for TOTALEnergies operated the Cameia-Golfinho development in Blocks 20 and 21, the first hydrocarbon development targeting presalt reservoirs in the deepwater Kwanza Basin. TOTAL plans to take Final Investment Decision on the project by July 2023 and has indicated that it expects first oil from the 70,000Barrels of Oil Per Day project by 2026.
