Both the Republic of Congo (ROC) and its regional neighbor Angola have set ambitious natural gas objectives. By 2025, the ROC aims to produce 2.4 million tons of LNG, while Angola is set to have natural gas account for 25% of its energy matrix. The countries’ respective national oil companies (NOC) – Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (SNPC) and Sonangol – are driving projects forward and engaging with IOCs and regional players to bolster exploration, feedstock and domestic gas consumption. 

SNPC Managing Director Maixent Raoul Ominga will lead a Congolese delegation at the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) 2024 conference in Luanda, scheduled for October 2-3. The conference will facilitate cross-border collaboration as Angolan and Congolese oil and gas sectors experience sizable growth. Collaboration between the two major hydrocarbon players will serve as a driving force behind regional energy security, affirming SNPC’s commitment to strengthening ties with Angola.

AOG is the largest oil and gas event in Angola. Taking place with the full support of the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas; national oil company Sonangol; the National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency; the African Energy Chamber; and the Petroleum Derivatives Regulatory Institute, the event is a platform to sign deals and advance Angola’s oil and gas industry. To sponsor or participate as a delegate, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com.

The ROC achieved a milestone in March 2024 with its first LNG cargo delivery to Italy from the Congo LNG project’s Tango FLNG facility, featuring a 1-billion-cubic-meter-per-annum (BCMA) liquefaction capacity. A second FLNG vessel with a 3.5-BCMA capacity is set to start production in 2025. Congo LNG serves as a model for fast-tracked LNG production, with the project coming online just 12 months after FID was announced. The project is supported by a Sales and Purchase Agreement signed between SNPC, energy major Eni and multinational energy corporation Lukoil in September 2023. With the project, the ROC is set to produce an initial 600,000 tons of LNG per annum and up to 2.4 million tons by 2025.

Angola itself celebrated its 400^th LNG cargo delivery in 2023, while reaching FID on its first non-associated gas development – the New Gas Consortium’s Quiluma and Maboqueiro gas project – in 2022. The project will supply feedstock gas to the country’s Angola LNG facility, which currently monetizes gas from associated projects across the country. As regional LNG exporters, both Congo LNG and Angola LNG are set to play a dominant role in supporting economic growth with the development of new gas-focused concessions across both countries.

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Beyond Congo LNG, SNPC has been streamlining gas for domestic industrial use through projects such as Banga Kayo. Developed in partnership with Chinese energy company Wing Wah, Banga Kayo – a conventional oilfield on the cusp of reaching peak production of 50,000 barrels per day (BPD) – features a phased expansion plan to monetize previously-flared gas resources. Over several phases, the project will progressively increase gas valorization capacity to produce LNG, LPG, butane and propane for the domestic market. Three trains will be developed – the first of which will have a capacity of one million cubic meters per day (MCMD) – while the second and third will each have a capacity of two MCMD. The second and third trains will come online by March 2025 and December 2025, respectively.

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SNPC is also committed to leveraging undeveloped oil resources to stimulate economic growth. The ROC has set a target to increase production to 500,000 BPD, with investment in producing fields and the development of available blocks driving additional output. Crude oil production for April 2024 measured 259,000 BPD and ongoing exploration efforts aim to bolster output through new discoveries. In partnership with independent oil producer Perenco, SNPC completed offshore 3D seismic surveys at the Tchibouela II, Tchendo II, Marine XXVIII and Emeraude permits in November 2023, with data from the surveys set to identify future drilling targets.

Similarly, Angola plans to increase its oil production to 1.1 million BPD until 2027 and is inviting investment in exploration to achieve this goal. The country concluded a 12-block oil tender in January 2024 and is preparing to launch a 10-block tender in 2025, offering blocks across the Kwanza and Benguela basins. As such, collaboration between Angola and the ROC would support corresponding production goals, with Ominga’s participation at the AOG 2024 conference reflecting a shared commitment to hydrocarbon development. During the conference, Ominga is expected to discuss opportunities for joint cooperation in the sector, while engaging with a suite of Angolan industry stakeholders and energy leaders.