The Angolan National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG) has signed three Risk Service Agreements with ExxonMobil and Sonangol intending to increase the exploration area in the offshore area, Angola.

The offshore area covers 17,800 square kilometres, and these signed agreements will allow for easy identification of the potential of hydrocarbon resources that exist in the Namibe Basin. Deepwater blocks 30, 44 and 45 are located between 50 and 100 kilometres from the Angolan coast, in a water depth that varies between 1,500 and more than 3,000 meters in depth.

Reacting to the signed agreements, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of ANPG, Paulino Jerónimo said the contracts showed the advantages of the presence of ExxonMobil in the Namibe Basin. He said the contracts allow to deepen the geological knowledge and help to explore the hydrocarbon potential in the zone.

The Chairman said that “the success of the work carried out in Angola by international operators, many of whom already have a consolidated presence in the country, is an extremely important factor for the development and credibility of the Angolan oil sector.”

“We will work with the Angolan government and ANPG to identify the border areas with the best resource potential, applying our proven experience and our cutting-edge technology,’ said Andre Kostelnik, ExxonMobil’s General Manager in Angola, adding that ‘these new concessions are the result of the long success history of our exploration and production activities in Angola.”

Before now, the Namibe Basin was an unexplored maritime zone in the country. ExxonMobil has an interest of 60% and is the operator of Blocks 30, 44 and 45, while the state-owned company holds the remaining 40%.