Angola hosts oil investors
Angola is at the centre of global energy deals this week as its capital Luanda hosts a plethora of global chief executives and energy investors.
More than 1,000 oil industry stakeholders attended the Angola Oil and Gas 2019 Conference, organized by Africa Oil & Power.
The summit was open by President João Lourenço, who highlighted the various reforms made by his administration to revitalize the industry and insisted on the role of gas monetization to spur industrialization and economic growth.
The spotlight was given to exploration on an exciting panel sponsored by Schlumberger and moderated by NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber and CEO of the Centurion Law Group.
The “Restructuring and Remodeling of Upstream Angola” panel gave the opportunity for leading Angolan and international executives to look at the status of current exploration efforts globally amidst reduced spending and decreasing production across most African oil producing nations.
Mr Stephen Willis, Regional President, BP Angola & President ACEPA gave highlight of the reduced exploration spending from $7bn in 2013 to a current $2bn.
Willis insisted that reduced exploration is not only an ‘Angola effect’ but a global one.
He also reminded the audience that Angola has a very high exploration success rate. “Despite reduced exploration, Angola’s success rate is over 50%, against a global average of 30%,” he explained.
Proof that exploration in Angola is a rewarding venture, ENI’s Executive Vice President Guido Brusco talked about finding close to 2 billion barrels of oil in the country over the past 12 months with two major discoveries.
“Continuous belief in exploration and its ability to create and transform industries really matters,” Guido Brusco said.
“Our recent discovery in Block 15/06 is a testament to the potential Angola has to yield world-class discoveries in the coming years.”