The three legislative authorization bills authorizing the President to deduct the investment premium from the Petroleum Income Tax in the Concessions of blocks 18/15, 46 and 47 were unanimously approved by the National Assembly.
The legislative proposal for the deduction of the investment premium based on the Petroleum Income Tax in the concession of block 18/15 was approved with 183 favorable votes, none against and no abstentions.
For the stimuli to blocks 46 and 47, the deputies approved both diplomas with 185 votes in favour, none against and zero abstentions and 188 in favour, none against and no abstentions, respectively.
The three legal diplomas were approved during the eighth extraordinary plenary meeting of the first legislative session of the fifth legislature of parliament, chaired by the president of the body, Carolina Cerqueira.
According to the Government, the three oil blocks, considered frontier, are located in deep and ultra-deep waters of the unexplored Congo Basin "which represents an increased operational complexity, associated with the risk of research given the unknown geological conditions".
“Based on these grounds, the holder of executive power, under the Taxation of Petroleum Activities Law, assigns investment premiums of 30 percent for block 18/15 and 40 percent for blocks 46 and 47, incentives that , however, did not prove to be enough to make the investment viable”, said, at the time, the Secretary of State for Mineral Resources, Jânio Correia Vítor.
The official, who presented the diplomas to the deputies, stressed that the referred blocks have estimated resources above 2 billion barrels of oil and to ensure investment in the concessions, the national concessionaire ANPG (National Agency of Petroleum and Gas) negotiated a new consortium contractual and fiscal terms.
Azule Energy, SINOPEC and Sonangol Pesquisa e Produção for block 18/14 and Azule Energy, Equinor and Sonangol Pesquisa e Produção for blocks 46 and 47 constitute the consortium for the concessions.
The increase in State revenues, through the profitability of investments and the maximization of oil production, is among the pretensions of the authorities.
Among the expected benefits with the attribution of tax incentives, Jânio Correia Vítor highlighted the collection of bonuses and contributions to social projects in the order of 90 million dollars, also foreseeing the attraction of investments in the order of 32.5 billion dollars, “ in case of success”.
He also pointed out the increase in geological knowledge, the replacement of reserves, the attenuation of the decline in production and the increase in revenue for the State, via taxes and receipts from the national concessionaire, as other expected benefits.
During the discussions in the plenary, the deputy of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), Elsa de Almeida Paxi, welcomed the President's initiative, considering that it contributes to "boosting economic development and intensifying the replenishment of reserves".
Speaking for the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), deputy Manuel Mbalu criticized the lack of diversification of the economy with oil revenues and the lack of savings, noting that the Government “has given up on the Angolanization of oil”.
And the deputy of the Humanist Party of Angola (PHA), Raul Diniz, pointed out the advantages of the presidential initiative, highlighting the “stimulus to investment in oil exploration and production, attraction of investors and foreign capital and development of technology and experience”.
