Angola’s request for bids from oil and gas investors for 12 oil blocks in the Lower Congo and Kwanza basins attracted 53 bids as the close of bid on November 15, 2023, energynewsafrica.com can report.
Out of the total 53 bids received by Angola’s national concessionaire, the National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG), 22 bids were submitted for four blocks in the Congo Basin.
The 22 bids were submitted for CON 2, CON 3, CON 7 and CON 8 blocks.
Block CON 8 alone received ten bids, four of which were for operatorship of the block.
Interestingly, 31 bids were submitted for blocks in the Kwanza Basin namely, KON 7, KON 10, KON 13, KON 15 and KON 19 blocks.
Of the bids submitted, 22 were for operatorship.
Blocks KON 1, KON 3 and KON 14 received no interest.
“With this tender, we mark another safe step in the process of exploration and production of hydrocarbons in the onshore areas of the Lower Congo and Kwanza basins, attracting companies with proven experience and accumulated knowledge…in basins with recognized geological complexity,” remarked José Barroso, Angola’s Secretary of State for Oil and Gas.
ANPG will evaluate the bids received, a process which is anticipated to be finalized by 31 December 2023. The results of the onshore tender are expected to be announced by mid-January 2024, following which negotiation with companies will commence.
ANPG expects negotiations to be complete by March 2024.
Paulino Jerónimo, President of the Board of Directors of the ANPG underscored that the onshore round is the “fourth time since the creation of the ANPG in February 2019 that we have opened the doors to [collectively] follow one of the determining stages that will lead to the concession of oil blocks.”
