UK-based geophysical company Metatek-Group has completed the first-ever modern airborne survey of Angola’s onshore Kwanza Basin, deploying cutting-edge technology that could reshape exploration strategies across one of Africa’s most significant sedimentary basins and open new doors to critical mineral prospecting.
Conducted in partnership with Angolan upstream consultancy Striped Horse and the country’s petroleum regulator ANPG, the survey covered the full Kwanza Basin across more than 36,000 kilometres flown. It combined enhanced Full Tensor Gravity Gradiometry (eFTG) — described as the world’s most advanced airborne gravity gradiometry technology — with scalar gravity, magnetic and LiDAR data to deliver unprecedented subsurface detail from near-surface geology through to deep basement rock.
The gravity and magnetic data enables enhanced imaging of the basin’s architecture, including fault and transfer zone geometries, sediment thickness variations, and the distribution of salt, carbonate and volcanic bodies. High-resolution LiDAR terrain models will also support surface access planning, environmental baselining and geomorphological interpretation for operators planning future drilling campaigns.
Notably, selected priority areas were flown at higher resolution to support the detection of critical minerals in addition to hydrocarbons — a timely addition given Angolan state-owned oil company Sonangol’s recent announcement of plans to diversify into critical minerals. The complete dataset, together with optional interpretation products including block viability rankings, will be available for licensing from the second quarter of 2026 under a multi-client model.
Mark Davies, CEO of Metatek, described the survey as “a step-change in regional and prospect-scale subsurface understanding of the onshore Kwanza Basin,” adding that the integration of multiple technologies delivers “a robust, basin-wide framework enabling more informed exploration and de-risking seismic planning and acreage decisions.”
Sources: oilreviewafrica.com | energy-pedia.com