Page 11 - AfrOil Week 15 2021

AfrOil POLICY AfrOil

ANPG official says onshore bidding

round may create 5,000 new jobs

ANGOLA HERMENEGILDO Buila, the business direc- be the place of choice for local and international
tor of Angola’s National Oil, Gas and Biofuels investors.”
Agency (ANPG), has said he expects the coun- Azevedo was speaking at the presentation of
try’s onshore bidding round to lead to the crea- the nine blocks included in the onshore licens-
tion of as many as 5,000 jobs in the hydrocarbon ing round, which formally opens on April 30.
sector. These auctions, which will close on June 9, cover
Speaking on April 12, the day the Angolan three blocks in the Lower Congo basin (CON-
government presented the nine blocks included 1, CON-5 and CON-6) and six blocks in the
in the licensing round to investors, Buila said Kwanza basin (KON-5, KON-6, KON-8, KON-
that these new positions were not likely to 9, KON-17 and KON 20). Potential investors
emerge all at the same time. must pay an entry fee of $1mn to gain access to
The pace of job creation will depend on the the relevant data packages.
pace of exploration and development work at ANPG has encouraged local companies to
each block and the timing of each phase of the bid for the blocks. Last year, the concessionaire
projects, he explained. said that domestic firms that won the upcom-
He also stressed, though, that the oil and gas ing auctions would pay a petroleum income tax
industry was strong enough to generate this of 30% instead of the usual rate of 50%. It also
many new positions. “The work force is intense stated that Luanda would not obligate Angolan
in the petroleum activities,” he told Rádio firms that submit winning bids to pay signature
Nacional de Angola. Each of the new projects bonuses or provide funding for social welfare
will require “around 600 people at each block,” initiatives. ™
he stated.
Also on April 12, Angola’s Petroleum and
Mineral Resources Minister Diamantino
Azevedo said that Luanda was trying to bring
the number of new concessions awarded to
investors during the 2019-2025 period up to 50.
He also hailed the country’s investment oppor-
tunities, saying: “Angola is still blessed with great
petroleum potential, presents itself with a stable
petroleum sector, competitive and very attrac-
tive to investors, and the government is still
focused on the continuous improvement of the
business environment so that our country can Nine blocks are included in Angola’s onshore licensing round (Image: ANPG)

PROJECTS & COMPANIES
Two companies strike oil in Egypt’s Abu

Sennan concession in Western Desert

EGYPT TWO companies have announced oil discov- 22m of net oil pay interpreted across a number
eries in Egypt’s Abu Sennan concession in the of reservoirs, including the Abu Roash C, Abu
Western Desert in the past week. Roash E, Lower Bahariya and Kharita Forma-
United Oil & Gas (UOG) made a new find tions., the statement said.
during drilling operations for the ASD-1X UOG is now planning to test the well during
exploration well, according to a company press the coming weeks. If successful, it will negoti-
release. Preliminary results suggest that the ate with Egyptian General Petroleum Corp.
ASD-1X exploration well has a total of at least (EGPC) on a development lease.

Week 15 14•April•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P11