Angola’s National Oil, Gas & Biofuels Agency (ANPG) has signed a Principles Agreement with TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil for the allocation of four exploration blocks in the Benguela and Namibe Basins — regions described as among the country’s most geologically promising yet largely untested offshore provinces.
The two energy majors will co-lead a consortium to explore Blocks 40, 41, 42 and 58, situated in ultra-deep waters with geological characteristics likened to Brazil’s prolific Santos Basin. Both the Benguela and Namibe Basins remain largely undrilled, offering significant upside potential as Angola looks to sustain and grow production over the long term.
The deal builds on ExxonMobil’s prior frontier drilling efforts in the Namibe Basin and signals a renewed push by international majors to unlock Angola’s next generation of hydrocarbon provinces. ANPG Chairman Paulino Jerónimo described the agreement as a strong sign that Angola is “not only attracting new investments, but maintaining existing ones.”
Angola’s frontier ambitions extend beyond offshore. ReconAfrica is advancing geochemical sampling and permitting for potential 2D seismic in the Damara Fold Belt within the onshore Etosha-Okavango Basin, while Vietnam’s Xuan Thien Group is also conducting research in the basin following a 2025 agreement with the ANPG. In the Kassanje Basin, the ANPG has been conducting oil exploration studies since 2022.
Meanwhile, on Angola’s mature producing fields, Azule Energy and its partners commenced full-field production at the Ndungu development on Block 15/06 in February 2026, with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day — the latest milestone in a broader $70 billion upstream investment drive aimed at scaling the country’s output.
Source: Energy Capital & Power