Angola: Covid-19 Impact Reduces Oil Activity

 The reduction in drilling activity, whose financial losses have yet to be quantified, is one of the consequences of the impact of Covid-19 on the oil sector in Angola.

The fact was announced Wednesday in Luanda by the spokesman for the Association of Exploration and Production Companies of Angola (ACEPA), Andre Kostelnik, at the end of a meeting with the President of the Republic, João Lourenço.

The director general of Exxon Mobil in Angola also noted that "the situation had prevented other investment opportunities," reiterating that at this time the impact of the pandemic on the crude industry could not yet be quantified.

According to Andre Kostelnik, the future of oil activity in Angola is not far from the global situation in that segment and the resumption of its exploration will happen as the economy grows globally.

The manager said it was "committed to continue working together, as in the past, in order to find solutions and, as a result, bring more investment to Angola in the future.

President Lourenço's meeting with representatives of oil companies operating in Angola also addressed the emerging challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic is creating for the population.

The meeting was attended by the Ministry for Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, and the chairman of the board of Sonangol,

The companies Total, Chevron, Esso, ENI, BP, Exxon Mobil and Somoil are members of the Angola Exploration and Production Companies Association (ACEPA).

Oil production in Angola

Last August Angola recorded production of around 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, up 24,000 against July, according to the monthly report from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

As a result, the country maintained its position as the second largest producer in Sub Saharan Africa, behind Nigeria, with over 1.4 million barrels per day.

The oil sector accounts for more than half of Angola's total exports and about 80 percent of tax revenues.

From 2019 to 2025, as part of the General Strategy for the Allocation of Oil Concessions, 49 oil concessions will be in public tender for exploration, research, development and production.