Luanda — The country has a potential of approximately 50 billion barrels of oil to be explored, of which almost 10 billion have already been found/discovered, according to the executive director of the National Oil, Gas and Biofuel Agency (ANPG), Ana Miala.

Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the first Offshore Exploration Forum, which began Tuesday in Luanda, she said that this potential, ascertained by a study carried out recently, requires more investment in order to be exploited and to make the Angolan crude oil market increasingly competitive.

Along with the availability of oil to be explored, she also pointed to the existence of contractual stability and appropriate laws as other factors that encourage new investment in this sector.

Ana Miala recalled that the sector reached its peak production in 2008, when it registered 1.9 million barrels per day, a figure that fell to 1.1 million in 2014.

According to the ANPG, Angola's oil production in April totaled 32,206,719 barrels, corresponding to a daily average of 1,73,557 barrels of oil, compared to the forecast of 1,129,395 barrels.

The Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, pointed to increasing production as a current issue on the ANPG's agenda.

According to the official, the country still has a lot of good things to explore, both in the Kwanza Basin and in the Congo and Namibe Basins, and he called on entrepreneurs to take advantage of the opportunities available in the sector.

ANPG wants to reach more than 50 oil blocks by 2025

The increase from 32 to 50 oil and gas exploration blocks by 2025 is one of the goals of the National Oil, Gas and Biofuel Agency, with a view to strengthening oil production in Angola.

According to the chairman of the ANPG's Board of Directors, Paulino Jerónimo, this challenge is part of the government's commitment to develop this sector and increase oil exploration in the country.

The National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency, created in 2019 by Presidential Decree no. 49/19, of 6 February, is the result of the program to reorganize the oil sector in Angola, becoming the National Concessionaire, a role previously held by Sonangol.

As the National Concessionaire, the ANPG's mission is to regulate, supervise and promote the execution of oil activities in the field of operations and contracting in the oil, gas and biofuels sector.