Angola in the running to potentially benefit from Italy’s global $5.5 billion energy transition spend

Angola’s National Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG) has organized a conference to address the topic of energy transition and the steps that the sector has taken in this regard with representatives of Milan-listed industrial group  Maire TecniMont and the Angola-Italy Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Held on May 30, the discussion revolved around the present and future of the country’s energy mix, the implementation of the biofuels strategy, and the need for decarbonization to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases, in the context of the oil sector’s contributions to energy diversification in Angola.

In line with the global trend of ensuring sustainable industry practices, ANPG’s Executive Board Member, Ana Miala, underlined the sector’s commitment to the energy transition agenda, bearing in mind the differences and needs of each geographic region.

“Angola is a country rich in abundant natural resources and will continue to implement policies to encourage the extraction of fossil fuels in a sustainable manner. The country has a legal and regulatory framework that guarantees national and foreign investors the necessary security for the implementation of projects throughout the energy chain,” noted Miala.

The Italian Ambassador to Angola, Cristiano Gallo, informed that his country has $5.5 billion at its disposal to finance, at a global level, projects that demonstrate the resilience required for the energy transition.

“Angola could be one of the beneficiaries of this financing. Therefore, we are working on identifying robust and resilient projects and partnerships in the Angolan oil and gas sector, which are win-win for both parties”, said the diplomat.

The meeting ended with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between ANPG and Angola’s Jean Piaget University to establish cooperation between the national oil industry and academia. This cooperation covers areas related to national staff training and strategies adjustment based on the best environmental and safety practices across the value chain.

ANPG’s Executive Board Member, Artur Custódio, pointed out: “What we are doing here is leveraging projects that already exist in some blocks and bringing in external technology. Then, with the help of these same companies and others, we will choose pilot projects for their implementation that will allow us to achieve the decarbonization target defined by the Ministry by 2050.”

Angola’s hydrocarbon resources which are said to be abundant, have attracted some major oil and gas names to the country. Last month, ExxonMobil made a new oil discovery in Block 15 off the coast of Angola, and TotalEnergies’s Angolan subsidiary made a final investment decision (FID) for a deepwater oil project in Block 20. 

This week, Azule Energy, a joint venture (JV) between BP and Eni, handpicked Aker Solutions to provide brownfield maintenance and modification scopes for two floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units off the coast of Angola. Before that, the JV handed out work to Saipem to deliver subsea equipment for an offshore field. 

The Italian player then won three contracts with Total Energies to provide multiple services related to the development of Cameia and Golfinho oil fields. Located around 100 km off the coast of Angola, the fields form part of the deepwater Kaminho project in Block 20/11.