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QatarEnergy said in a statement that the agreement with Angola’s National Agency for Oil, Gas and Biofuels covers Blocks 8 and 22, where the company will hold a 30 percent working interest while Shell as operator will hold 50 percent and Sonangol E&P the remaining 20 percent. This deal is subject to the relevant governmental approvals and the completion of final contractual arrangements. The partnership is focused on the exploration, appraisal, development and production of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in these deepwater areas.
In an announcement distributed by the Qatar News Agency, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs and the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, said, “QatarEnergy is pleased to sign this agreement and to establish a presence in the energy sector of the Republic of Angola as part of our international upstream exploration strategy and growth efforts.” Al-Kaabi added that the company thanks the Angolan authorities and its partners Shell and Sonangol for their cooperation and support. He expressed looking forward to a longstanding and fruitful partnership.
The agreement was signed in the Angolan capital Luanda on the sidelines of the Angola Oil and Gas Conference, according to the QatarEnergy statement. This event also saw the ANPG formalize other deepwater deals, including risk service contracts for Blocks 19, 34 and 35 with Shell, Equinor and Sonangol E&P. Those contracts include an initial exploration period of up to five years and a 30-year production period for commercial discoveries, with commitments for seismic reprocessing and drilling at least one exploration well.
ANPG data places Angola’s oil production at an average of roughly 1.04 million barrels per day during the first half of 2026, reflecting a slight increase from some prior months but below historical peaks. The Energy Institute’s Statistical Review of World Energy put the 2025 full-year average at 1.098 million barrels per day. The country has been seeking to attract new investment to boost output from its maturing fields through such licensing rounds.
QatarEnergy has pursued an aggressive international expansion in recent years, signing agreements for blocks offshore Uruguay in May 2026, winning a license in Libya in February 2026 and announcing an oil discovery offshore Namibia, the company’s newsroom postings show. These moves form part of a broader strategy to grow its upstream exploration and production portfolio beyond its core operations in Qatar. The addition of Angolan acreage continues this pattern of entering promising new basins in partnership with major international players.
The heads of terms set the framework for exploration, appraisal, development and production in the two blocks, including minimum work commitments, exploration periods, bonuses and fiscal terms, an update from the Angola Oil and Gas conference indicated. Blocks 8 and 22 are located in the Kwanza Basin, an area that has seen renewed interest from operators amid efforts to unlock further hydrocarbon potential. This latest agreement builds on a series of pacts signed in November 2025 covering multiple deepwater blocks across Angola’s basins.
