Angola’s national oil company, Sonangol, reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable hydrocarbon development during the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) conference this week.
In an “In-Conversation with” session, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins emphasized that the company will not abandon oil and gas; instead, it aims to advance decarbonized oil and gas development.
By investing in upstream oil and gas production while prioritizing low-carbon projects, Sonangol intends to increase national crude output while diversifying and decarbonizing the industry.
The company is particularly focused on non-associated gas development and exploring alternative energy sources, such as solar.
“We are actively seeking opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas.
Gas produced from Angola LNG will be utilized for fertilizer production, and we are assessing the use of gas in southern Angola to support steel industries.
Additionally, we have a blue carbon project aimed at reducing carbon emissions through mangrove planting.
We have identified one area in Luanda and four additional locations for this initiative,” stated Gaspar Martins.
Sonangol has undergone significant transformation in recent years. Following the establishment of the National Oil, Gas & Biofuels Agency (ANPG) in 2019, Sonangol transitioned its role as national concessionaire and regulator. T
his change aims to enhance Sonangol’s competitiveness and strengthen its capabilities as an upstream operator.
Concurrently, the government is partially privatizing the NOC, with full privatization expected to be completed by 2026.
This process will improve Sonangol’s financial capacity, enabling the company to advance new upstream projects.
“The transformation of Sonangol began several years ago when we transferred the regulatory and concessionaire roles to the ANPG, which involved moving nearly 600 employees.
Following this, we initiated a restructuring program that consolidated 36 different entities into five core business units, starting with exploration and production.
We aspire to go public, but we want to do it properly. Therefore, we are currently undergoing all necessary processes to achieve this,” Gaspar Martins explained.
