After resuming exploration in Africa last year, Brazilian oil giant Petrobras is “on the lookout for opportunities” in Angola, reports the Portuguese news agency Lusa.
Petrobras signed exploration agreements for three offshore blocks in São Tomé and Príncipe, acquired as part of a joint operation with Galp and the National Petroleum Agency of São Tomé and Príncipe (ANP-STP), last February. Now the company is turning its sights toward another Portuguese-speaking country with familiar terrain.
African basins, including those off the shores of Angola, reportedly have technical and geological similarities with Brazilian basins like Campos, Santos and Pelotas. Exploiting ultra-deepwater pre-salt oil deposits has become part of the company’s expertise – and an area where Chinese made FPSOs (floating unit for production, storage and transfer), play a big role.
Between 2025 and 2029, Petrobras plans to invest US$111 billion, the vast majority of which (US$77 billion) will go toward exploration and production, with a smaller portion (US$20 billion) dedicated to refining, transport and marketing.
[See more: Petrobras returns to Africa with São Tomé deal]
Petrobras confirmed its intentions to explore opportunities in Angola last November at a pre-conference workshop held in the leadup to African Energy Week 2024. “We feel very comfortable to come back to Africa, and are looking at opportunities in South Africa, Namibia and Angola,” Sylvia Maria Couto dos Anjos, executive officer for exploration and production at Petrobras, told press.
Technical expertise gained through the development of Brazil’s extensive pre-salt reserves make the company particularly well suited to unlocking the offshore potential of southern Africa. Those geological similarities with Angola were also highlighted at the workshop, sponsored by Namibia Energy Corporation (NEC).
A senior official at Angolan state-owned oil company Sonangol has emphasised the importance of bringing Petrobras back to Angola. The Brazilian oil company operated in Angola for decades before pulling out of Africa entirely in 2018.
Exploration in Angola would be in line with Petrobras’ stated goals of diversifying its portfolio. The company assured Lusa that it sees “new oil and gas exploratory frontiers [as] part of the energy solution of the future, guaranteeing a secure supply of energy, as well as being developed in a way that is integrated with other energy sources.”
