Angola invites 2025–50 upstream strategy input

Market: Crude oil, Natural gas
07/07/26

Angola's upstream regulator ANPG has presented the highlights of a new strategy and invited formal inputs that will support what it described as "the main guidelines for sustainable development of the upstream sector over the next 25 years".

The new strategy aims to maintain crude oil output above 1mn b/d, both in the near and long term, unchanged from the target in the plan that has guided policy since it was introduced in 2023. ANPG said continuous decline of crude output from a 2008 peak of 2mn b/d and ongoing competition for the same global pool of upstream capital and technology, from "Brazil, Guyana, Namibia and others", have a direct impact on revenues and macroeconomic stability. The regulator's latest data put Angolan crude production in May at 1.06mn b/d, up by 3pc on the month.

ANPG said the new strategy aims to make Angola's "upstream sector more competitive and attractive for investment". The strategy sets a target of 3bn ft³/d natural gas production, up from the 2023 plan that targeted 1.14bn ft³/d, aiming to see Angola LNG's 5.2mn t/yr Soyo liquefaction plant (ALNG), national fertiliser and steel production receive 90pc, 6pc and 4pc of that volume. The new strategy still aims to "sustain the supply to ALNG" and maintain support for domestic fertiliser production. But policy focus on steelmaking has now expanded to "industry" more broadly, and to petrochemicals.

Angola's upstream sector will also prioritise the reduction of emissions and integration of clean technologies under the strategy, aiming for 25pc and 45pc cuts to greenhouse gas emissions in the short and long term, respectively.

Angola's new oil and gas targets will depend on reducing the time between discovery and production, promoting the sharing of infrastructure between oil blocks, and revitalising mature fields. Angola introduced an offshore incremental production programme (IPP) that raises cost recovery for producers while lowering royalties and the government's share of production in 2024. Revitalising mature fields will see the IPP strengthened and extended to onshore basins under the new strategy.

The IPP also makes all exploration costs recoverable regardless of success. The new strategy emphasises the importance of new exploration, extending to unconventional petroleum resources. The goals of exploration are to discover 13bn bl and 5 trillion ft³ of oil and gas resources in the short term and additional 17bn bl and 39 trillion ft³ in the long term, ANPG said.

ANPG said all performance indicators will be monitored by a strategy management committee that will conduct five-year reviews. The strategy formalisation process is open to stakeholder inputs until 31 July.

By Adebiyi Olusolape

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22/10/26

Brazil PPSA plans 1.8mn m³/d gas auction for 2027

Sao Paulo, 22 October (Argus) — Brazil's state-owned commodity trading firm PPSA plans to offer 1.8mn m³/d of natural gas to industrial consumers in a new auction around mid-2027, more than 50pc above the volume sold in the first auction held on 22 October. The announcement follows demand that exceeded the volumes offered across all five industrial segments in 22 October's first auction, in which 1.1mn m³/d gas was sold. Total demand was 39pc above supply, national oil, gas and biofuels secretary Renato Dutra said after the auction. Demand in some segments reached nearly three times the volumes available, according to PPSA president Luis Fernando Paroli. The government plans to announce the next auction further in advance to give industrial consumers more time to prepare and could adjust the rules to broaden participation, Paroli said. The first auction took place as some companies were finalizing their existing gas supply contracts, which limited their ability to participate, he added. The government expects to advance the rules for the next auction after concluding the current process, Dutra said. A group of 23 companies among 36 industries authorized to participate in the auction bought all 1.1mn m³/d offered in the first auction, eliminating the need for a second bidding round. The contracts will generate R376mn ($74mn) for the government over their 10-month term, PPSA estimates. The average gas price resulting from the auction was $5.83/mmBtu, based on the average September benchmark Henry Hub gas price , according to Paroli. The auction pricing formula consists of 115pc of Henry Hub plus the B coefficient offered by each bidder and monthly pricing will use the previous month's average. The average winning B coefficient was $0.64/mmBtu above the $1.80/mmBtu minimum set for the auction. Mines and energy ministry MME estimates the resulting gas prices represent reductions of 38pc for glassmakers, 56pc for ceramics producers, 46pc for steel, metals and mining companies, 56pc for chemical and petrochemical producers and 57pc for fertilizer producers compared with prices currently paid by those industries. The comparisons were based on the average prices currently paid by each sector for contracted gas volumes. Dutra said some industrial users currently pay around $12/mmBtu for natural gas. The auction price includes infrastructure costs such as outflow pipeline access and processing plants, known locally as SIE and SIP, Dutra and Paroli said. Those prices cover only the gas molecule component (PM) and exclude any transport costs stemming from the pipeline network. The winning companies will be responsible for arranging transportation and may choose to hire trading companies to handle the process. The government has been discussing how to establish adequate remuneration for that infrastructure as part of its Gas for Jobs program, while hydrocarbons regulator ANP is also considering the issue . Some successful bidders are not registered gas shippers and will rely on gas trading firms to arrange transportation from the Itaborai delivery point to their facilities. Paroli said all such buyers had already identified a trading firm and had preliminary arrangements in place to qualify to compete in the tender. They must submit their contracts with those companies by 27 November. PPSA will monitor whether the gas reaches winning industrial consumers, and that consumption must match their current gas demand. Buyers or the trading companies they hired will be subject to penalties if consumption mismatches the requirements. PPSA said players can swap volumes with auction participants in extraordinary situations such as maintenance periods and other emergencies. But winning companies must swap volumes under the auction's own framework , without profiting from it. Officials also argued that the program should continue regardless of the outcome of Brazil's 2026 presidential election , which will head to a second round of voting on 25 October. Dutra described the gas agenda as a "state policy" rather than a government program and said its backing by energy policy council CNPE reinforces its long-term nature. Paroli said state participation in strategic sectors including oil, gas and power gives the government tools to support industrial competitiveness. He expects lower gas costs to improve Brazilian industrial competitiveness, potentially supporting domestic production and exports. By Marcos Mortari, Maria Frazatto and Rebecca Gompertz Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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22/10/26

Italy nears gas liquidity service, gas cap for power

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22/10/26

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