Luanda, Jan. 22, 2025 (Lusa) - The Angolan parliament on Wednesday unanimously approved the request for authorisation for the country's president to change the Block 14 oil concession, as it includes areas of common exploration between Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo).
Presenting the document, the secretary of state for oil and gas said that the intended change was to de-annex the Negaje and Menongue development areas from Block 14, in order to integrate them into the Block 14/23 concession.
José Barroso said that the de-annexation would make it possible to redefine the geographical boundaries of Blocks 14 and 14/23; increase geological knowledge; mitigate the decline in production; replenish reserves with resources estimated at 298 million barrels of oil; the signature bonus of US$15 million (€14.4 million); a fixed production bonus of US$500,000 ( €480,000) per year, for a period of 15 years, counting from the start of the production year, and the collection of revenues in the order of US$5.7 billion (€5.47 billion) via taxes and receipts from the national concessionaire.
The Angolan secretary of state pointed out that the national concessionaire had signed a production sharing contract with the Block 14 contractor group, which currently includes Chevron, as operator, Azule Energy, Sonangol Pesquisa & Produção, Angola Block 14BV and Galp.
The secretary of state for oil and gas stressed that the concession area for Block 14, located in the Lower Congo Basin, with a water depth of 600 to 1,000 metres, includes the Negaje and Menongue development areas, which extend beyond the geographical limits of Angolan territory, as part of the maritime zone of common interest between Angola and the DRCongo.
In response to the concerns raised by the MPs, José Barroso said that Block 14/23 will be operated by the same contractor group and the development of this area will be done in accordance with Angolan law.
"The Congolese side, taking into account our knowledge, our capacity, has decided to accept that we develop this common area on the basis of our law. It will be our national concessionaire, with the integration of some staff from the Congolese concessionaire, who will supervise all the activity," he said.
According to the Angolan secretary of state, this sharing of production was also aimed at avoiding possible conflicts with the neighbouring country.
"We have a positive example of exploration or development of oil fields" with the DRCongo and “it is on the basis of this positive experience, in reality, that we are confident about this relationship,” he added, admitting that if the results are good, we will move forward together to develop other areas of economic interest.
NME/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
