QatarEnergy Signs Heads of Agreement for 30% Interest in Angola Blocks 8 and 22

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 9, the Angolan National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG), together with Shell, QatarEnergy and Sonangol E&P, signed a heads of agreement for offshore Blocks 8 and 22 in the Kwanza Basin. Under the proposed equity structure, Shell will hold a 50% interest in both blocks as operator, QatarEnergy will hold 30%, and Sonangol will hold 20%; this equity arrangement remains subject to relevant approval by the Angolan government and the completion of final contractual arrangements. Angola's Ministry of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas confirmed that the signing took place on September 9, and QatarEnergy disclosed it externally on September 10.

This document is a heads of agreement, not a risk service contract that has already taken effect. The agreement establishes a contractual framework for the subsequent exploration, appraisal, development and production of Blocks 8 and 22, covering minimum work commitments, exploration periods, bonuses, related contributions, default penalties, and fiscal and contractual terms. Angolan authorities list this agreement separately from some of the risk service contracts already signed during the same period, and Blocks 8 and 22 still need to complete final contractual arrangements before moving to the next stage.

Shell will assume the role of operator for both blocks, with its participating entity being the Angola branch of Shell's BG International Limited. The proposed equity proportions among the three parties are Shell 50%, QatarEnergy 30% and Sonangol 20%. The signing was completed during the Angola Oil & Gas 2026 conference held in Luanda.

Block 22 had previously entered a new round of seismic data processing. Viridien launched reprocessing of approximately 4,300 square kilometers of 3D seismic data in the block in December 2025, focusing on sub-salt structures; fast-track processing results are scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2026, and final data products are planned for completion in the third to fourth quarter of 2026. This dataset, together with approximately 2,900 square kilometers of data from the adjacent Block 20/11, forms a regional 3D seismic data coverage of more than 7,200 square kilometers.

Blocks 8 and 22 are both located in Angola's Kwanza Basin. In this round of agreements, ANPG explicitly incorporates exploration, appraisal, development and production into the subsequent contractual framework, but at this stage it has not yet crossed the threshold for a formal risk service contract to take effect; government approval and final contract signing remain preconditions for the proposed equity structure to be implemented.