Angola’s 2025 oil and gas licensing round underscores attractive exploration opportunities in Africa

(WO) – With details for Angola’s 2025 licensing round announced earlier this week, African exploration markets are making a push for upstream investment by deploying more attractive terms and offerings for global investors.

Angola's upcoming bid round offers 29 opportunities in oil-and-gas-rich basins, minimizing financial risk for exploratory companies. The process is transparent, efficient, and offers flexible contracts, making it an attractive investment prospect.

The ANPG will launch a limited tender in the first quarter of next year featuring nine offshore blocks in the Kwanza and Benguela basins. Additionally, the country has four onshore blocks available, 11 blocks on permanent offer and five marginal fields open for participation – representing the first marginal field round in the country.

Marginal fields are located within producing blocks with proven petroleum systems, including ExxonMobil’s Block 15 – one of the largest oil-producing blocks in Angola – and bp’s Block 18, home to the Greater Plutonio Development.

The fields can be awarded individually, which demonstrates Angola’s commitment to maximizing the full scope of its hydrocarbon resources and attracting juniors and independents, in addition to major explorers.

Angola’s introduction of fiscal reforms that halve tax royalties and income tax requirements for marginal discoveries also serve as a model for other African producers looking to attract investment to marginal resources.

In Angola, the ANPG is seeking to accelerate research and evaluation activities – particularly in sedimentary basins – and expand geological knowledge of new and existing oil and gas reserves, with a view to stimulating short-term production through the development of assets located nearby existing production infrastructure, coupled with mid- to long-term development of marginal fields.

African oil and gas markets like Angola carry a high demand for seismic and geophysical companies to enter and support exploration activities, with the forum set to connect relevant companies with seismic data acquisition and processing opportunities.

Lead image source: Energy Capital & Power (Provided by the African Energy Chamber)