Eni Plans to Invest US$2.3 Billion in Angola in 2027 to Advance Oil and Gas Exploration and Development

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 22, Italian energy company Eni plans to invest up to US$2.3 billion in Angola's oil and gas exploration and development sector in 2027. Guido Brusco, Eni's Chief Operating Officer of Global Natural Resources, said during Angola Oil & Gas 2026 that the funds will be used for the development and exploration of Angola's offshore oil and gas resources, including new project development and production enhancement at mature assets. Eni's upstream business in Angola is primarily operated through Azule Energy, a company jointly held 50/50 by Eni and bp.

Azule Energy is currently advancing the development of the Greater PAJ deepwater oil fields. The project completed its final investment decision in June this year. Located in Block 31 and Block 31/21 offshore Angola, it comprises five fields—Palas, Astraea, Juno, Urano and Dione—and is Angola's first cross-block integrated oilfield development project. The project plans to drill 17 production and injection wells and deploy an FPSO designed with a crude oil processing capacity of 95,000 barrels per day and a natural gas export capacity of 70 million standard cubic feet per day, with first oil planned for the first half of 2029.

Greater PAJ is operated by Azule Energy, with Sonangol E&P and Equinor participating in the development. The natural gas produced by the project will be connected via a newly built export pipeline to the existing gas network in Block 31 and transported to the Angola LNG liquefied natural gas facility. Brusco said on this occasion that Greater PAJ is expected to add approximately 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of new production and is one of the key development projects in Eni's subsequent investment plan for Angola.

Another batch of producing projects in Angola has entered the production ramp-up phase. In February this year, the Ndungu full-field project operated by Azule Energy came on stream. The project is part of the Agogo Integrated West Hub development in Block 15/06, consists of 7 production wells and 4 injection wells, and is designed for a peak production of 60,000 barrels per day. After both the Agogo and Ndungu components fully ramp up, their combined peak production is expected to be approximately 175,000 barrels per day. The block is held 36.84% by Azule Energy, 36.84% by Sonangol E&P and 26.32% by Sinopec International.

On the natural gas side, the New Gas Consortium project operated by Azule Energy began supplying gas from the Quiluma gas field in March this year. The project's initial gas supply is approximately 150 million standard cubic feet per day and is planned to increase to 330 million standard cubic feet per day within the year. The natural gas is processed at the Soyo processing plant and then transported to Angola LNG for export and for Angola's domestic market. The project is Angola's first non-associated gas development project, and the consortium comprises Azule Energy, CABGOC, Sonangol E&P and TotalEnergies.

On the exploration front, Azule Energy confirmed in February this year a significant oil discovery at the Algaita-01 well in Block 15/06. The well is located approximately 18 kilometers from the Olombendo FPSO, with preliminary estimates of approximately 500 million barrels of original oil in place. The well was drilled in a water depth of 667 meters, and oil-bearing sandstones were found in multiple Upper Miocene reservoir intervals. The existing FPSO and subsea production infrastructure provide tie-in conditions for subsequent appraisal and potential development.

The current US$2.3 billion is the upper limit of Eni management's disclosed 2027 oil and gas investment plan for Angola. The specific annual capital expenditure amounts broken down by Greater PAJ, Block 15/06 exploration, gas projects and other assets have not yet been publicly disclosed.