Angola Battles To Revive Oil Exploration As Output Declines

On Nov. 10, nearly two decades after securing the initial rights, Total’s CEO Patrick Pouyanné was in Luanda to snip the ribbon on a $16 billion oil project. It’s not clear when he, or his peers, will be cracking open the bubbly in Angola again.

Without another megaproject like Total’s Kaombo on the horizon and fields getting old, Africa’s second-largest crude producer is facing a steep decline unless it can revive exploration in what was once one of the world’s most exciting offshore prospects.

Sonangol, the state oil company, is negotiating contracts for new blocks with oil majors and Angola plans to hold an auction next year, the first tender for exploration rights since 2011.

It’s a race against time for a country where oil accounts for 95% of exports and about 70% of government revenues. Luck will also play a part, as it always does in exploration where finding oil can never be guaranteed.