The information was transmitted this Monday, in Luanda, by the director of exploration of ANPG, Adriano Sebastião, recalling that in 2019, the bidding round of the Namibe Basin has already taken place as part of the extension of the oil activity.
The official spoke about the "Overview on the Exploration Strategy" during the Forum on Petroleum Exploration in Environmental Conservation Areas organized by ANPG.
Adriano Sebastião stated that the execution of the General Concessions Strategy and the extensive exploration of mineral resources are supported by the 2020-2025 Hydrocarbon Exploration Strategy.
The 2020-2025 Hydrocarbon Exploration Strategy explained is formulated to intensify the hydrocarbon exploration activity in Angola in order to "guarantee the continuous expansion" of knowledge of the petroleum potential, including "unconventional reservoirs, to replace reserves and the consequent attenuation and stabilization of oil production ".
At least four axes embody the Hydrocarbon Exploration Strategy, namely the availability of access to areas of the sedimentary basins in Angola, already underway, and the expansion of geological resources.
Access to petroleum resources, ensuring the execution of the strategy for granting concessions and the intensification of research in the blocks and in concessions while leaving open areas also comprise the Strategy.
According to the director of exploration at ANPG, accessibility studies are underway and will also be carried out in the interior basins, protected areas, aiming at the identification of all elements that operate in the regions.
The Government put into public discussion the Law on Environmental Conservation Areas, approved in April 2020, aiming to accommodate the exploitation of mineral and oil resources in the conservation areas.
The initiative is contradicted by several environmentalists and civil society actors who have already sent a petition to the Government defending the safeguarding of protected areas due to the sensitivity they present.
The "Legal Protection of Conservation Areas" was the theme presented at this forum by the director of the Legal Office of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Environment, Aguinaldo Cristóvão, who focused his communication on the fundamentals of the amendment to the law.
According to the official, the amendment to the Law on Environmental Conservation Areas focuses only on three chapters, namely on nature reserves, national parks and on infringements, ensuring that the initiative "does not collide" with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ).
Recalling the Constitution, Aguinaldo Cristóvão stressed that the State adopts the "necessary measures" for the protection of the environment and species of flora and fauna throughout the national territory, the maintenance of ecological balance, the correct location of economic activities and the exploration and rational use of all resources.
