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The new Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás e Biocombustíveis (ANPG) on 2 October published bidding parameters for the ten blocks in the 2019 bid round. The terms, published on the ANPG website, include a carried 20% stake for state oil company Sonangol in each block. Biddable terms for each block include the signature bonus, social projects contribution, number of wells and amount of seismic data to be collected.

More than 20 years ago, African Energy was reporting on hopes for exploration outside the Lower Congo Basin. Issue 1, in April 1998, reported plans for a licensing round to offer blocks 26-30, backed by 2D seismic from Western Geophysical, but the focus at the time was on the big signature bonuses expected for blocks 31-33, badly needed by the government and Sonangol as civil war continued onshore.

Angola has announced details of a forthcoming licensing round offering blocks in the Namibe and Benguela basins. The round is the first outing for the new Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás e Biocombustíveis (ANPG), created from splitting Sonangol’s roles as concessionaire and equity holder, and a first test for whether last year’s reforms to the country’s oil and gas laws can attract new licensing interest. The blocks on offer are Block 10 in the southern Benguela Basin and blocks 11, 12, 13, 27, 28, 29, 41, 42 and 43 further south in the Namibe Basin.

Angola’s Ministry of Energy and Water has notified Angolan company Aenergia SA of its intention to terminate contracts for the installation, technical assistance and maintenance of power plants in the country. A presidential order on 23 August gave the ministry permission to terminate the contracts, settle accounts with Aenergia, take possession of equipment and conclude agreements with GE to ensure contract implementation. The contracts, which were financed through a loan to the government by GE Capital Ltd, were approved by the ministry in July and August 2017.

France’s Maurel & Prom has entered Angola with the acquisition of 20% of blocks 3/05 and 3/05A previously owned by Mitsubishi subsidiary Angola Japan Oil Company Ltd (Ajoco). The licences are two producing and development blocks in shallow water operated by Sonatrach. The Angolan government published an official decree recognising the transfer on 4 June and the acquisition was finalised at the end of July.

The Ministry of Mineral Resources and Petroleum has announced that an international public tender will be launched this year for the construction of an oil refinery at Soyo in the northern Zaire province to be developed with private capital.An official notice dated 26 August said the ministry would announce tender details on its website shortly, including the bidding timetable and project specifications. Angola imports most of its fuel products, with the Luanda refinery meeting just 20% of demand.

As well as developing the regulatory and legislative environment, the government has produced significant planning documents to guide developments in the power sector. The overarching strategy is laid out in the 207-page Angola Energia 2025, which includes demand planning, priority generation, transmission and distribution projects, energy mix scenarios and a resource atlas. Medium-term strategy is guided by the 2018-2022 Action Plan for the Energy and Water Sector.

There has been material progress reforming Angola’s opaque and nepotistic energy sector over the past year. Considerable work has gone into crafting new power sector regulations, and there have been notable changes to upstream licensing and the role of state oil and gas giant Sonangol, as well as important reforms to the downstream hydrocarbons sector. Investors and analysts canvassed by African Energy were impressed by the extent of the changes, although plenty of problems remain to be resolved.

Reforming the oil and gas sector to attract investment and increase production has been a central priority of João Lourenço’s presidency. State oil and gas firm Sonangol boosted its earnings in 2018, fired by higher oil and gas export prices but serious problems face the company as it seeks to reverse production declines from maturing offshore assets.Sonangol’s 2018 annual report, published on 19 July, said total pre-tax earnings for the year accelerated to Kz1.1trn ($3.18bn), a 76% increase from the Kz625.2bn posted in 2017.

A fifth 334MW turbine came online on 5 July at the Laúca hydropower plant. This means that five of the six turbines are now operating, with the last expected in H1 2020. A second powerhouse taking advantage of ecological flow will add 65.5MW, taking total installed capacity to 2,070MW. The $4bn plant is being built by Brazil’s Odebrecht, with Bardell and Andritz supplying electromechanical equipment. The first turbine began operating in August 2017 after five years of construction.

Angola has announced a licensing round offering nine blocks in the Namibe Basin and Block 10 in the Benguela Basin. The National Agency of Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG) will hold a series of roadshows in Houston, London and Dubai in September before the bidding process opens on 2 October.“Our message to the global oil industry is simple: Angola is open for business.

Sonangol and Eni have announced a contract award to Italy’s KT-Kinetics Technology for two new refining process units to quadruple gasoline production at the Luanda refinery. KT is a subsidiary of Maire Tecnimont, which valued the contract, announced on 4 June at the Angola Oil and Gas Conference, at $200m. The scope of work includes engineering, procurement and construction activities for a naphtha hydrotreater and a catalytic reformer.

Angolan President João Lourenço has sacked Carlos Saturnino as head of Sonangol, replacing him with Sebastião Gaspar Martins, who previously headed Sonangol P&P and Somoil. Angola has been hit by severe fuel shortages and the sacking of Saturnino and four board members appeared intended to find a scapegoat for the crisis. The Presidency complained of a lack of communication between Sonangol and other state institutions, while Sonangol said it lacked sufficient foreign currency to pay for fuel imports.

Total on 2 April announced the start of production from Kaombo Sul, the second floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit of the Kaombo project on Block 32. Kaombo Norte came on stream in July, and Kaombo Sul will add 115,000 b/d, bringing the overall production capacity to 230,000 bopd, equivalent to 15% of the country’s production.

Eni has announced another oil discovery in Block 15/06, its third since the start of a new exploration campaign in 2018. The deep-water Agogo discovery is estimated to contain 450m-650m barrels of light oil in place with further upside. The Agogo-1 NFW well was drilled 180km off the coast and about 20km west from the N’Goma floating production, storage and offloading vessel on the block’s West Hub. The well was drilled by the Poseidon drillship in a water depth of 1,636 metres, reaching a total depth of 4,450 metres.