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Read more on Angola’s market outlook in the Special Report 2020: Angola COVID-19 Response – outlining the country’s path toward creating bankable opportunities, resuming drilling activities and taking proactive fiscal measures to boost liquidity in the interim. Download the report and other AES Special Reports here.
Angola has made small-scale advancements in exploration and production in recent months, bringing new, marginal resources online and resuming drillships in early July.
Sonamet Completes Zinia Testing: Angolan service provider Sonamet completed factory acceptance tests on all flowline structures for Total’s Zinia field Phase 2 development in August this year. In June 2018, Sonamet and global subsea engineering and construction company Subsea 7 were awarded the contract by Total E&P Angola for the engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning of the subsea flowlines and umbilical’s for the Zinia 2 project, with fabrication to take place in Sonamet’s yard in Lobito. Despite current challenges posed by COVID-19, the two firms were able to meet performance requirements, demonstrating strong local expertise in engineering, management of suppliers and fabrication experience.
Nsinga Field Comes Online: The Nsinga oil field in northern Angola came online in July 2020, under new incentives created for the development of marginal fields in 2018. The reservoir is located in area A of the concession of Chevron-operated Block 0, off the coast of Malongo in the province of Cabinda. According to the National Agency of Oil, Gas and Biofuels, the Nsinga field will undergo phased development, with Phase 1 consisting of four wells and utilizing an existing platform. The drilling results will provide information for the design of the next stage, and the technology used is planned to improve the extraction of fluids from the reservoir and reduce the sand content of the oil.
Total Resumes Drillships: France’s Total has restarted oil drilling, with new exploration ships to resume work. The deep-water Skyros rig was brought back online in Block 32 in July, and Maersk Voyager is due to re-start at the end of August, both of which previously had been idled in the capital Luanda. Seadrill West Gemini will also resume activity, which previously had been dormant offshore Namibia. Such movements are indicative of operators’ urgency to ramp-up offshore, non-essential activities.
