SONANGOL ONSHORE BEGINS WELL DRILLING IN ANGOLA

The drilling of Sonangol’s first onshore oil well, in Luanda, starts within a week, as part of a production strategy to be developed by 2027, the Angolan state oil company announced on Friday.

The process of installing the drilling rig is about 95% done, and it marks the reactivation of oil and natural gas production in the Kwanza Onshore Basin, located in Cabo Ledo, Quissama municipality, Luanda province.

The resumption of crude oil exploration in Kwanza Onshore Basin comes 27 years after the deactivation of oil operations in Block KON-11, located around 120 kilometers from Luanda, the Angolan capital city.

As a result of the reactivation of oil activity in that location, it is estimated that the well’s reservoir holds 66 million barrels of light oil, at a depth of around 750 meters, according to chairman Sonangol’s Executive Committee for Business, Exploration, and Production, Ricardo Van-Deste.

Speaking to the press, at the end of a field visit, headed by the Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas (MIREMPET), Diamantino Azevedo, Van-Deste highlighted that at least ten million US dollars will be needed to invest in this operation.

He added that the main purpose of drilling in Kwanza Onshore Basin is to test the potential of this reservoir, which will relaunch Sonangol’s onshore exploration and production activities.

The process of evaluating the development concept and the sizing of the production facilities will follow based on the results of that well.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Board of Directors of Sonangol, Sebastião Martins, said that, if this drilling prospect yields positive results, the oil company could increase its oil and gas production capacity for the country.

According to the manager, all the human and logistical conditions have been created for drilling to begin within a week, with only rehearsal or testing of some equipment remaining.

He considered that drilling on land is much cheaper than at sea, depending on the specificity of each operation.

He assured that Sonangol is also preparing a second reservoir in the same region to explore oil and gas onshore.

The consortium responsible for carrying out the operations of this Block is made up of Sonangol Pesquisa e Produção (30%), as an operator, Brites Oil & Gás, with 25%, Grupo Simples Oil and Atlas Petroleum Exploration Worldwide, which holds 20% each, as well as Ómega Risk Solutions Angola, with 5%, respectively.

So far, Sonangol’s oil production is carried out mainly in shallow and deep waters, offshore, an operation that entails more costs compared to onshore.