Angola is preparing a reform of access to its oil and gas resources to accelerate exploration and attract new investment. The proposed plan would abandon multi-year bidding rounds, open more than 100 blocks, mainly onshore, and shorten concession awards from six to three months. Adoption is expected before the end of 2026, after which the new blocks could begin opening.
Presented by the National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG), the reform seeks to change resource-access conditions to reflect very different deposit profiles. It forms part of a 25-year hydrocarbons development plan. The announced opening is substantial, but is not yet a formal offering: the timetable, blocks concerned and contractual arrangements remain to be published.
Moving from periodic bidding rounds to continuous access
The current system relies on licensing rounds held at multi-year intervals. The government wants to replace it with a more flexible mechanism allowing investors to review opportunities and submit proposals faster. Reducing award times to three months could improve administrative predictability and shorten the interval between a company’s interest and a state decision.
This acceleration will be useful only if accompanied by a transparent process, available geological data and selection criteria known in advance. Investors must be able to assess geological risks, infrastructure, development costs and local obligations. Fast decisions alone do not guarantee drilling or production: companies will commit capital when resources and economic conditions justify investment.
Opening more than 100 blocks, mostly onshore, could diversify project profiles offered. Land-based operations may require lower initial investment than large deepwater developments, but are not automatically more profitable. Data quality, resource size, access constraints and infrastructure proximity determine attractiveness. A block list accompanied by technical information will therefore be more useful than an aggregate number.
Contractual regimes tailored to risk
ANPG also plans to differentiate contractual conditions according to block maturity and risk. Mature or marginal fields would not face the same terms as onshore resources or deepwater acreage. This approach may help revive declining fields and enable smaller projects than major oil companies’ investments.
Differentiation must nevertheless preserve clear, balanced contracts. Companies assess fiscal obligations, production shares, concession duration, drilling commitments and decommissioning costs. If regimes are too complex or change frequently, the intended flexibility may be offset by a higher risk premium. Authorities will need to explain how conditions are calculated and ensure consistent application across projects.
For the state, the challenge is attracting capital without excessively reducing public revenue or local-content requirements. A competitive offering can include training, use of national suppliers and infrastructure development obligations while remaining suited to local operators’ actual capabilities. The quality of these commitments will determine whether opening acreage contributes to Angola’s economy beyond production revenue.
Sustaining production over the long term
Angola currently produces around one million barrels of oil a day. The reform addresses the need to renew the project pipeline as existing fields decline and exploration seeks new reserves. The country has recently benefited from multi-billion-dollar commitments by international groups, notably TotalEnergies and Eni. These announcements show interest in certain assets, but cannot be extrapolated to all blocks to be awarded.
More exploration will not immediately increase volumes. Results depend on discoveries, their commercial size, appraisal periods and final investment decisions. Offshore development can require several years before first production; onshore projects may be faster, but still depend on gathering, processing and export infrastructure. The reform should therefore be assessed through permits actually awarded and drilling commitments fulfilled.
Resource-access policy also comes as Sonangol seeks to improve asset performance and prepares for a possible stock-market listing. Regulatory changes and refining projects are separate initiatives, but converge on the same question: how to create value from hydrocarbons over several decades. Future investor confidence will depend on stable rules and the state-owned company’s ability to generate returns.
Milestones to watch
The first step is adoption of the development plan announced before the end of 2026. The block list, available data, sequence of offerings and award criteria must then become known. The three-month deadline will need to be observed in practice, including authorizations and approvals preceding operations.
The reform may make Angola’s upstream sector more accessible and better suited to diverse resources. Its effectiveness, however, will be measured neither by the number of blocks announced nor procedural speed alone. Relevant indicators include permits awarded, investment committed, exploration campaigns conducted, commercial discoveries and local economic benefits. Until these parameters are known, the opening remains a promising policy direction whose execution will determine its impact.