"We have six major energy companies operating in Angola and, currently, all of these companies are expanding their portfolios, which clearly demonstrates that the policies that Angola has implemented are effective," Iombo said during his speech at the conference taking place this week in Luanda.
With these licenses that will be awarded, the total number of blocks awarded in Angola rises to 47 since the licensing process began in 2019, according to the conference organizers.
According to the statement sent to Lusa, Angola secured 53 proposals from various companies during the 2023 competition, which ended in January this year, and a new round of bidding will be launched in the first quarter of next year.
"To date, 32 concessions have been awarded since 2019, with more than 50 blocks expected to be licensed by the end of the country's six-year licensing round next year," the statement said, adding that an "investment pipeline of more than 60 billion dollars is planned for the upstream market (oil extraction) over the next five years, from budgets for projects already approved."
Angola aims to maintain production above one million barrels per day through its next bidding round, the permanent supply program and the incremental production initiative, which is expected to be published soon.
This initiative "offers improved fiscal terms for oil produced above the base production levels of existing assets, which gives companies the means to recover costs and invest and produce more," the statement reads.
