The memorandum was signed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Agency for Oil, Gas and Biofuels, Paulino Jerónimo, and the Executive Vice-President of Shell, Eugene Okpere, in the presence of the Minister of Natural Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino de Azevedo.
Diamantino de Azevedo said that this memorandum of understanding is the result of efforts by the Angolan government to relaunch oil exploration activities and that the act specifically confirms the importance of the permanent offer of oil concessions regime, which allows the ANPG to directly negotiate concessions that, having been part of a bidding process, were not awarded.
According to the minister, the ANPG has been instructed by the ministry to develop the necessary actions to attract renowned international companies from the oil industry that do not currently operate in Angola.
“Shell’s return to Angola, after 25 years, represents the successful implementation of the efforts mentioned above, and also indicates the existence of significant potential for oil resources in our country,” said Diamantino Azevedo.
With the signing of this memorandum of understanding, the minister also said, conditions have been created for the start of the study to assess the oil potential of blocks 19, 34, 35, 36, 37 and 43, “in compliance with the provisions of the National Development Plan 2023-2027,” added the Minister of Natural Resources, Oil and Gas.
“We believe that the consensus reached in this memorandum between the two parties will dictate the beginning of a lasting relationship between the signatories and we hope that the recommended activities will be carried out and that this partnership will culminate in the discovery of new fields that we believe still exist in our country,” stressed the minister, hoping that Shell’s return will be an incentive for other companies to come to the country.
In turn, the president of ANPG stressed that Shell is one of the largest companies in the world in the sector and has already been to Angola in several concessions in the 1990s, returning with the signing of this memorandum to evaluate several blocks.
Paulino Jerónimo highlighted the agility of the national concessionaire in granting concessions, the flexibility in defining contractual terms and pragmatism in creating solutions so that investors are successful in exploration activities.
Speaking to the press, the executive vice-president of Shell said that Angola has always been of interest to the company, and that for years it has been looking for the best time to return.
According to Eugene Okpere, the improvement of the business environment in the sector was also an attractive factor for the return, highlighting that the combination of the two factors encouraged the start of this process.
“The first step is the study, it is still early, we will study the data to see the viability of the project”, he stressed.
