President Lourenço Re-Appoints Diamantino Pedro Azevedo as Mineral, Petroleum Minister in Angola

LUANDA, Angola – The Angolan and African energy industry has welcomed the reappointment of Diamantino Pedro Azevedo as Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas of the Republic of Angola by President João Lourenço today.

The industry has welcomed the Minister’s reappointment and the continued confidence and trust placed on him by President João Lourenço. Diamantino Pedro Azevedo was first appointed in September 2017, and has since then overseen a complete regulatory overhaul of Angola’s oil & gas sector. This notably includes new frameworks for marginal fields development, gas developments, licensing rounds and domestic capacity building.

“Minister Diamantino Pedro Azevedo has always ensured that our industry has a strong voice in Angola, Africa and across the world. We have seen him advocating for our interests and those of the continent at OPEC, and ensuring that our positions are heard and respected,” stated Sergio Pugliese, President for Angola at the African Energy Chamber. “Meanwhile, his support for a stronger industry dialogue between local companies, international oil companies and state institutions has renewed interest into major projects across the value-chain in Angola. We are delighted to see him continue leading our industry,” concluded Mr. Pugliese.

Under the leadership of President João Lourenço, Diamantino Pedro Azevedo has been a champion of key industry reforms in Angola, and managed to put back Angola’s oil & gas sector on track. The country has renewed its collaboration with all major investors over the past few years, including Total, Eni, BP and Chevron. Renewed engagement has translated into new discoveries, new final investment decisions and new fields being brought on stream.

At the end of 2017 for instance, Angola agreed on the contractual conditions for the development of Total’s Zinia Phase 2 development and its entry into block 48 with Sonangol. The negotiations resulted in the FID on the $1.2bn Zinia Phase 2 deep offshore development in May 2018, and the extension of the block’s license until 2045. Total also eventually started up production of Kaombo in Block 32 in July 2018 with the bringing on stream of the Kaombo Norte FPSO, followed by that of Kaombo Sul in April 2019. In December 2019, the French major further acquired interest in Blocks 20/11 and 21/09 on the back of more attractive fiscal and regulatory terms.

The same goes for BP, who signed an agreement with Sonangol in 2018 paving the way for an FID on the Platina field development in Block 18 and the extension of the bloc’s license until 2032. Finally, Angola formed a Natural Gas Consortium joint-venture last year with Eni, Chevron, Total and BP to to invest $2bn in gas exploration and LNG development projects and ensure supplies to the Soyo LNG plant.