(Bloomberg) – Shell’s return to Angola after a 20-year hiatus highlights a shift in sentiment toward the nation’s oil sector, as reforms aimed at attracting global capital start to show results.
Shell, alongside Chevron and Sonangol EP, signed deals with the National Agency of Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels for Block 33 in the Congo Basin, ANPG board member Alcides Andrade told reporters on the sidelines of an oil conference in in Luanda, the capital.
Shell’s return to Angola after a two-decade absence reflects the success of reforms introduced since 2019, including streamlined licensing, improved tax terms, and efforts to attract major international energy companies, Andrade said Wednesday.
Africa’s third largest oil producer has been courting investment to stave off a steep decline in output, which is a key source of government revenue. In July, production fell below one million barrels a day for the first time since it quit OPEC two years ago.
Deals were also signed for Block 24 in the Kwanza Basin with Sonangol as the operator, partnered by Acrep and Red Sky Energy, Andrade said.
“Today we witnessed agreements with several investors to continue developing productive activities and mitigate the decline in oil production,” he said.
Separately, Petroleum Minister Diamantino Azevedo said at the conference that Angola will open a bidding round for five oil blocks before year-end.
The blocks are part of a group of 10 initially planned, with the remaining five already awarded through direct negotiations with undisclosed companies, he said.
