A consortium of global energy giants, including American supermajor Chevron, French oil company TotalEnergies, Italy’s ENI, and British explorer BP—now incorporated into the independent entity Azule Energy—has signed a landmark agreement with the Angolan government to enhance natural gas production in the country. The agreement includes a Service with Risk (SCR) and other ancillary commercial arrangements aimed at boosting the nation’s energy output.
The immediate outcome of the agreement is the development of a project that will supply non-associated gas to Angola’s 5.2 million tonne-per-annum (mtpa) LNG plant. This project is expected to reduce operational risks at the facility, ensuring it runs efficiently and at optimum capacity. According to the National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG), the increased gas production will not only support domestic power generation, including at the Soyo Combined Cycle Power Plant, but also enhance Angola’s self-sufficiency in cooking gas, bolstering the nation’s energy security.
The newly formed “New Gas Consortium” represents a strategic partnership between these international companies, the Angolan state (through ANPG), and state-owned Sonangol Produção e Exploração. Launched in 2017, the consortium aims to develop non-associated gas fields in Angola’s Blocks 1, 2, and 3 and explore free areas within these blocks.
The signing ceremony was attended by key figures in Angola’s energy sector, including Diamantino Pedro Azevedo, Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas; José Barroso, Secretary of Oil; Sebastião Gaspar Martins, Chairman of Sonangol; Adriano Mongini, of Azule Energy; Christian Castro of Chevron’s Cabinda Gulf Oil Company; and Martin Deffontaines, General Manager of TotalEnergies in Angola.
Paulino Jerónimo, Chairman of ANPG’s Board of Directors, described the signing as the culmination of years of intense negotiations, which included discussions on exchange rates, technical, economic, and legal-fiscal matters.
Minister Azevedo emphasized the urgency of expediting the project’s development, with the goal of completing it by 2025—the year Angola celebrates its 50th anniversary of independence. He also highlighted the project’s potential to create hundreds of new jobs, with 400 positions expected during the construction of offshore platforms and an additional 300 jobs tied to the development of an onshore gas treatment facility in the municipality of Soyo, Zaire province.
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