With the government divesting its 30% stake in the NOC, Sonangol has the chance to strengthen both its financial and operational capacity as it transforms into a competitive upstream player.
Angola will finalize the partial privatization of its national oil company (NOC) Sonangol by 2026 with an initial public offering (IPO) expected to draw in investors. The government is divesting a 30% stake in the NOC in line with efforts to support Sonangol’s ambition to become a competitive operator, thereby transforming its role from a functioning arm of the government into a more proactive upstream player.
As Sonangol gradually transforms into a vertically integrated oil and gas company, the company has joined Africa’s largest energy event – the African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energy conference – as a diamond sponsor. This sponsorship not only reflects Sonangol’s commitment to developing the Angolan oil and gas industry even further but showcases an intention to engage with global investors and regional partners alike to usher in a new era of energy security in Africa.
AEW: Invest in African Energy is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.
The government is privatizing Sonangol by offering 11 of its processes to the public through public tenders, limited tenders and IPOs. The company’s privatization is part of the country’s broader Propriv initiative, which aims to drive economic reform by promoting free markets, increased competition between companies and the reduction of barriers to entry. For Sonangol, privatization is expected to affirm the company’s role as an internationally-recognized oil and gas operator by mobilizing private sector financing and enabling the company to focus on its role as an operator. In turn, this will enhance investor confidence in the market while positioning Sonangol as a catalyst for production growth in Angola.
As the NOC, Sonangol already combines its expertise with international oil companies to accelerate exploration and drive oil projects forward in Angola. In 2024, Sonangol and its project partners TotalEnergies and Petronas achieved FID for the Kaminho deepwater development in Block 20/11. Comprising the Cameia and Golfinho fields, the $6 billion development represents the first large deepwater project in the Kwanza basin and will produce 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) once operational by 2028. The company also expects the Agogo Integrated West Hub Development – situated in Block 15/06 and featuring the development of 36 new wells – to start operations by late-2025. Developed in partnership with international energy company Azule Energy, the project will utilize an FPSO with a capacity of 120,000 bpd. In Block 17, Sonangol and TotalEnergies are working towards first production at the CLOV Phase 3 project. Comprising a five-well expansion, the project aims to increase production by 30,000 bpd
In the natural gas sector, Sonangol inaugurated the Falcão Phase 2 gas project in December 2023. The project delivers gas from the Angola LNG facility to the Soyo I combined cycle power plant. With a capacity of 125 million cubic feet, the project generates power to support industry and petrochemical plants in Angola. Meanwhile, development is progressing at the Quiluma and Maboqueiro fields – Angola’s first non-associated gas project. Achieving FID in 2022, the project comprises two onshore platforms, an onshore gas processing plant and a connection to the Angola LNG facility. First gas is planned for 2026 with an expected production of 330 million cubic feet per day.
Beyond oil and gas, Sonangol is advancing low-carbon solutions in Angola. The company signed a deal with Azule Energy in 2024 to develop a biorefinery at the Luanda refining facility. The deal follows an agreement signed between the companies in 2023 for collaboration in the fields of decarbonization. Additionally, in December 2023, Sonangol and TotalEnergies inked a cooperation agreement to support the detection and reduction of methane emissions in Angola’s oil and gas industry. The agreement enables Sonangol to utilize TotalEnergies’ Airborne Ultralight Spectrometer for Environmental Applications technology.
“Committed to steering production growth in Angola, Sonangol sets a strong example for other NOCs in Africa. The company’s transformation stands to not only strengthen Angola’s project portfolio but creates newfound opportunities for collaboration with other project developers in Africa. Sonangol recognizes the value in investing in oil and gas while accelerating the uptake of low-carbon solutions. This should be replicated in other markets across the region as countries move to make energy poverty history by 2030,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.
During AEW: Invest in African Energy 2024, Sonangol will draw insight into the company’s project portfolio and how privatization has strengthened its capacity as an operator. Participating in panel discussions and engaging with regional counterparts, Sonangol’s presence at the event will serve to promote collaboration in African oil and gas. Sonangol’s CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins is also speaking at the event this November.
*African Energy Chamber
