Oil major Shell Plc is set to invest about $1 billion on new oil blocks in Angola. This comes as the South African country aims to increase production that has dwindled over the years.
Shell and Angola’s National Agency for Oil, Gas and Biofuels recently signed an exclusive agreement for exploration rights covering offshore Blocks 19, 34 and 35, along with 14 additional blocks in ultra-deepwater areas.
Speaking at an event attended by the oil giant in Luanda, the capital, ANPG’s Paulino Jeronimo said that the funds will help with seismic surveys and drilling.
According to him, Angola’s main priority is to keep crude production above one million barrels one day via marginal field development and incremental output projects.
Africa’s third-largest oil producer has been seeking investments to cushion the worrying decline in output, a major source of government revenue.
Months back, it quickly fell below one million barrels a day for the first time since Angola quit OPEC in 2023, before recovering.
ANPG also signed a different deal with Shell, alongside Chevron Corp. and Sonangol EP, in September for Block 33 in the Lower Congo basin, off the coast of Angola, marking its return to the nation after a 20-year break.
The one-million-barrel target is based on yearly averages and will remain in place for the next several years, Minerals and Petroleum Minister Diamantino Azevedo added.
