Afentra is continuing its onshore and offshore exploration activities in Angola after ending discussions with potential buyers earlier this month, CEO Paul McDade said.
McDade said stronger oil prices, driven by tensions involving Iran and disruptions to exports through the Strait of Hormuz, are supporting Afentra’s plans in Angola, sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest crude producer.
He said the company expects to make a final investment decision by late 2026 or early 2027 on the development of up to three discoveries in offshore Block 3/24, which Afentra operates.
According to McDade, the company is targeting first oil production from the project by the end of 2027.
Block 3/24 holds 10 oil and gas discoveries, including assets discovered by TotalEnergies more than two decades ago that were never developed. The block is located near Afentra’s existing producing fields.
Afentra expects results from the Pacassa SW well in Block 3/05 by July and plans to drill a second nearby well known as Impala.
McDade said a discovery of around 50 million barrels of recoverable oil could raise the company’s current reserves by about 50%.
He also pointed to opportunities in the onshore Kwanza Basin, where exploration activity last took place in the 1980s.
Afentra is assessing the basin’s wider potential and aims to begin drilling exploration wells there by 2027.
source: www.reuters.com
African Energy Council