The closing day of the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) 2026 conference in Luanda was dominated by Angola’s target of reaching 425,000 barrels per day of domestic refining capacity, new upstream and gas agreements, and reinforced plans for exploration and investment across the country’s oil and gas sector.
Angola’s Gas Master Plan envisages approximately $13 billion in midstream and downstream investment, spread across five industrial hubs in Cabinda, Soyo, Porto Amboim, Benguela and Namibe. The strategy was presented on Thursday by the National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG) on the second and final day of the conference. Of the total projected investment, roughly $7 billion is allocated to midstream infrastructure and $6 billion to downstream operations. Artur Custódio, ANPG’s executive administrator, said Angola holds more than 15 trillion cubic feet of monetisable gas beyond the volumes already committed to Angola LNG, with fertilisers, petrochemicals and gas-to-power identified as priority uses to underpin national industrialisation.
The domestic use of Angola’s gas resources was central to a dedicated panel on the gas economy. Manuel Barros, chief executive of Sonangol Gas, argued that ‘gas must be commercialised in Angola to stimulate industrial activity.’ Among the highlighted projects was the Amufert fertiliser complex in Soyo — valued at $2 billion — which targets annual output of 1.4 million tonnes of granulated urea and 800,000 tonnes of ammonia.
Refining and fuel supply security also featured prominently on the day’s agenda. Angola is targeting 425,000 bpd of refining capacity at a time when the country spent approximately $1.96 billion importing refined petroleum products in the first half of 2026 alone. The Lobito Refinery, designed to process 200,000 bpd and scheduled to enter production in 2027, remains a flagship project in the drive to expand national capacity. It is set to join the Cabinda Refinery, which has been operational since 2025, and the planned Soyo unit, which will have a projected capacity of 100,000 bpd. During AOG 2026, Sonangol indicated that financing negotiations are progressing with China and other markets to advance these strategic projects.
Exploration was another core theme on the final day. The ANPG announced its intention to drill at least ten wells per year, backed by increased exploration activity and seismic surveys, with the aim of expanding knowledge and exploitation of Angola’s hydrocarbon potential. This effort complements the already-announced return of onshore exploration in the Lower Congo and Kwanza basins. Shell, which returned to Angola’s deep waters in 2025, said it intends to move swiftly from area acquisition to assessing the country’s remaining offshore potential, having expanded its exploration position through three agreements signed at AOG 2026.
The second day also saw the formalisation of agreements linked to increased production at Blocks 15 and 31, financing for Etu Energias’ expansion in Block 14, and the Amufert fertiliser complex. TotalEnergies unveiled new targets for Block 17, setting a goal of 400 million barrels for the Dalia development, with an incremental production regime supporting fresh investment in the asset, whose output is now expected to continue until 2045. That announcement accompanied the earlier revelation of the Acacia-5 discovery, also in Block 17, and TotalEnergies’ entry, as operator, into two new exploration blocks in the Lower Congo Basin.
Etu Energias, which has been building its Angola portfolio through acquisitions including stakes in Blocks 3/05 and 3/05A alongside Sonangol, Afentra and Maurel & Prom, announced a target of reaching 100,000 bpd of production. The company also plans to develop 50 fuel retail stations as part of a strategy to expand across the full value chain. Block 14, Block 2/05 and onshore exploration are among the assets underpinning the company’s growth plan.
Access to capital for Angolan companies returned as a key topic during the day’s discussions. Afreximbank called for stronger national participation in an oil and gas sector valued at approximately $18 billion, as banks and development finance institutions seek to broaden financing options available to domestic companies. The pan-African trade finance bank said it has disbursed more than $5 billion to Angola’s oil and gas sector over the past eight years, supporting investments linked to Sonangol, Etu Energias/Somoil, the Cabinda Refinery and the Amufert complex, among others.
On the final day of AOG 2026, the ANPG also launched a new digital portal incorporating artificial intelligence-powered search tools and resources designed to streamline investor relations and expand access to sector information and opportunities. The platform forms part of the Agency’s broader strategy to attract foreign capital and strengthen Angola’s position as one of Africa’s leading oil and gas investment destinations.
Source: Mercado / Original article: https://mercado.co.ao/angola-quer-425-mil-barris-dia-de-capacidade-de-refinacao-e-reforca-investimento-em-gas-e-exploracao/
