Petrobras expresses intent to explore opportunities in Angola after resuming operations in Africa with agreements in São Tomé and Príncipe. The company plans to invest $111 billion from 2025 to 2029, primarily in exploration and production. Petrobras’s expertise aligns with Angola’s geological potential, marking a strategic return to diversify its portfolio and secure energy supplies.
Brazilian oil giant Petrobras has expressed intent to explore opportunities in Angola after resuming its operations in Africa last year. As reported by the Portuguese news agency Lusa, Petrobras has already signed agreements for three offshore blocks in São Tomé and Príncipe during a joint operation with Galp and the National Petroleum Agency of São Tomé and Príncipe (ANP-STP).
Angola, known for its African basins, possesses geological and technical similarities to Brazil’s Campos, Santos, and Pelotas basins. Petrobras’s expertise in exploiting ultra-deepwater pre-salt deposits aligns with this exploration, especially with the utilization of Chinese-made FPSOs (floating units for production, storage, and transfer).
Petrobras has committed to investing $111 billion from 2025 to 2029, with $77 billion allocated to exploration and production, while $20 billion is aimed at refining, transportation, and marketing. These plans signify Petrobras’s strategic growth vision, utilizing their technological advantages in oil exploration.
Last November, Petrobras reaffirmed its interest in Angola during a pre-conference workshop for African Energy Week 2024. Sylvia Maria Couto dos Anjos, the executive officer for exploration and production at Petrobras, discussed the company’s comfort in returning to Africa and their exploration interests across South Africa, Namibia, and Angola.
A senior official from Angola’s state-owned oil company Sonangol stressed the significance of Petrobras’s return, following the company’s withdrawal from Africa in 2018. The exploration endeavors in Angola support Petrobras’s aims to diversify its portfolio and enhance energy supply through new exploratory frontiers.
Petrobras highlighted its intent to integrate various energy sources while securing future energy supplies. Their exploration in Angola is a strategic move to leverage their vast experience in pre-salt reserves, indicating a strong potential synergy between Brazilian and Angolan oil market dynamics.
Petrobras, Brazil’s national oil company, has a long-standing history of oil exploration and production. The company’s return to Africa follows significant previous engagement, including decades of operations in Angola. The modern phase of Petrobras focuses on capitalizing on its advanced technologies developed through Brazil’s extensive pre-salt oil discoveries. The strategy includes investments in regions that exhibit geological similarities to Brazil’s established oil reservoirs, particularly in the sub-Saharan region. The significance of Angola resurges due to its potential in oil and gas exploration, especially as countries seek to diversify energy resources. Petrobras’s efforts aim to merge expertise in deep-water drilling with emerging markets in Africa, particularly in light of their commitment to invest substantially in exploration and production. Additionally, the recent emphasis on sustainable energy sourcing aligns with global trends towards developing new energy frontiers.
Petrobras is strategically positioning itself to expand operations in Angola, leveraging its experience from Brazil’s pre-salt reserves. The company’s planned investment in exploration aligns with its goal of diversifying energy sources while ensuring secure energy supplies in the future. The acknowledgment from Angolan officials emphasizes the mutual benefits of Petrobras’s return, fostering growth in the region’s oil and gas sector. Overall, this move underscores a significant development in the ongoing evolution of energy exploration in Africa.
Original Source: macaonews.org
