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AfrOil COMMENTARY AfrOil

Angola emphasises exploration

Luanda wants oil production levels to remain at or above 1mn bpd until 2040

– and it will have to expand exploration activity in order to achieve this aim

ANGOLA is heavily dependent on petroleum a brief overview.
revenues, so 2020 has been a difficult year thus
WHAT: far. Thanks to the coronavirus (COVID-19) Focus on exploration
Angola’s Council of Minis- pandemic and the oil price crash, the coun- According to press reports, the Hydrocarbon
ters has begun consider- try’s crude output has dropped to about 1.2mn Exploration Strategy for 2020-2025 was drawn
ing the new Hydrocarbon barrels per day, down from the 2019 full-year up in a bid to ensure that Angolan oil production
Exploration Strategy for average of 1.38mn bpd. At the same time, its oil remains at or above 1mn bpd until at least 2040.
2020-2025. revenues have declined, raising concerns about The document declares that the country
economic hardship. must expand its proven reserves beyond the cur-
WHY: These developments have not toppled Angola rent figure of 7bn barrels in order to reach this
Existing fields cannot from its position as Africa’s second-largest oil goal. The discovery of new reserves is necessary,
sustain oil output at producer. But they do seem to have convinced it argues, because existing production provinces
current levels over the
long term. officials in Luanda to consider the future care- are maturing.
fully, especially in light of the fact that the coun- This conclusion is in line with a recent study
WHAT NEXT: try’s crude output is trending downward over from the National Agency for Petroleum, Gas
Although comparisons the long term. and Biofuels (ANPG), which notes that oil out-
to Brazil’s pre-salt zone One result of those considerations is a new put has been declining since 2008 – and argues
may intrigue investors, strategy document covering the 2020-2025 that the fields now under development may see
ultra-deepwater projects period. The document was submitted to the yields sink to nearly nothing by 2040. As such,
will carry high costs. Council of Ministers for review and discussion the strategy document calls for launching a
last week, and this essay will attempt to provide major exploration campaign.

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 35 02•September•2020