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Angola’s Plan to Improve Oil Industry Performance is Already Yielding Fruit with Fast-Tracking Sustainable Oil Development

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3 years ago

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Oil Industry

The country’s crude yields peaked in 2008 at slightly less than 2 million barrels per day (bpd) and now stand at around 1.10-1.15 million bpd

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, July 17, 2023/APO Group/ — 

By NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber (www.EnergyChamber.org).

Angola has been in the petroleum business for a long time. It extracted its first barrels of crude oil in the mid-1950s, when development operations started at Benfica, an onshore field in the Cuanza basin, and became an even more prominent player after international oil companies (IOCs) started making major discoveries in the offshore zone in the late 1960s.

Since then, the country has worked its way up through the ranks to become one of the biggest crude oil producers in Africa. Sometimes it even tops the list of the continent’s largest producers. In August 2022, for example, it surpassed Nigeria and attained the top spot for the first time since 2017. While that rise was temporary, Angola became the continent’s No. 1 producer again in May of this year. Even if Nigeria surpasses it again, these instances serve as illustrations of Angola’s ability to sustain output at significant levels.

Production challenges

Even so, it’s worth noting that Angola’s oil sector faces significant challenges.

The country’s crude yields peaked in 2008 at slightly less than 2 million barrels per day (bpd) and now stand at around 1.10-1.15 million bpd. The government has said it wants to push production levels up to 1.3 million bpd, but it will not necessarily have an easy time doing so. This is because the decline in output has been structural in nature. That is, it stems partly from the maturation of many large offshore oil fields, partly from IOCs’ failure to launch enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects to stem the downward trend, and partly from inadequate investment in upstream capacity. These trends are not easy to reverse, even though officials in Luanda have made some efforts to attract new investors and to encourage exploration through such measures as new licensing rounds.

Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to assume that the long-term decline in crude output is a sign that Angola’s oil industry is destined to keep shrinking to the point of insignificance. The country is taking steps to raise production, not just to push yields up to 1.3 million bpd but also to stabilize them at that level.

Diamantino Pedro Azevedo Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, has brought Working together with ANPG and Sonangol leadership have been able to leverage both the power of government and the power of the business community to achieve overdue changes. These efforts are commendable, and I believe they will be successful — especially since IOCs are working with the national oil company (NOC), Sonangol, to accelerate new developments.

Building on Existing Infrastructure

We look forward to seeing the country rack up more successes in the years to come, starting with its push to raise crude oil output to 1.3 million bpd

In a number of cases, this collaboration has focused on making use of existing infrastructure to streamline development. I’ll mention two examples here, starting with Azule Energy, a company that BP of Great Britain and Italy’s Eni established last year to consolidate their Angolan portfolios.

Azule Energy may be relatively new, but it already has a track record of success with respect to working with Sonangol to push upstream operations forward. Indeed, the joint venture has focused specifically on bringing new reserves online as quickly as possible and has developed a strategy for doing so. This strategy is known as Infrastructure-Led Exploration (ILX), and Eni has described it as a means of using subsea tie-backs, which connect new deposits to existing production facilities as quickly as possible. This fast-track approach minimizes the time that greenfield projects spend waiting in the pipeline between discovery and development. It also maximizes sustainability, as reducing the need for new construction helps to lessen the environmental impact of upstream operations.

Azule Energy has already racked up a number of successes thanks to ILX. In late 2021 and early 2022, for example, it succeeded in bringing three new sections of the ultra-deepwater Block 15/06 on stream within a period of just seven months: Cuica, Cabaca, and Ndungu. Moreover, it put itself in a position to ramp production up quickly by employing a tactic of “appraisal whilst producing” – that is, by allowing appraisal wells to be used for development whenever possible rather than maintaining a distinction between the two types of wells. In the case of Ndungu, this was spectacularly successful, as it allowed the company to discover additional resources and raise its reserve estimate for the field from the initial level of 250-300 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) to 800 million-1 billion boe.

ILX is on track to score yet another success within the next few years at Agogo. This field, also located within Block 15/06, is the next target in Azule Energy’s development pipeline. It is slated to come on stream in 2026, and the company’s contractor, Saipem of Italy, has already begun construction of a new subsea production network there for the Early Phase 2 development project. This new network will eventually be connected to an FPSO that will support a development hub capable of supporting additional production of 175,000 bpd.

Fast-Tracking Oil Development

Meanwhile, Azule Energy is not the only IOC trying to ramp up production as rapidly as possible in cooperation with Sonangol. TotalEnergies of France has been following a similar path by emphasizing short-cycle development projects that extend its subsea production network in a low-impact manner by using tie-backs to link new fields to nearby floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels.

One such project is CLOV Phase 3, which targets the Cravo, Lirio, Orquidea, and Violeta fields within Block 17. TotalEnergies made a final investment decision (FID) on this project in June 2022, and it said at the time that CLOV Phase 3 was expected to carry a price tag of USD850 million. It also noted, though, that it would be able to trim its costs by as much as 20% because of the decision to use standardized equipment to establish production networks.

CLOV Phase 3 is slated to be the first upstream Angolan project to benefit from TotalEnergies’ use of standardized subsea equipment. However, the French major does hopes to take the same approach to future short-cycle development initiatives. In the meantime, CLOV Phase 3 is expected to boost Angola’s oil output by 30,000 bpd once it comes online in 2024.

Long-Term Goals

These brief mentions do not reveal the whole picture, as they do not illuminate all of the paths that Sonangol is taking to intensify cooperation with its foreign partners. But they do offer two examples of the work that the country has been doing to counter the long-term decline in oil production levels. More specifically, they demonstrate the gains that can be made when stakeholders work to make the most of what they already have.

But the point is not just to increase crude production and keep an existing industry afloat. Angola also sees the oil sector as a vehicle capable of laying a foundation for the country’s eventual transition to renewable energy in a way that maximizes the gains for citizens. To achieve this end, it is trying to generate as much revenue as possible from the development of its offshore oil reserves so that the proceeds can be used to grow the country’s economy. It is also seeking to ensure that IOCs share training and technology, thereby contributing to the development of a more highly skilled labor force and the expansion of local capacity for the support of complex projects. Additionally, it is working to reduce energy poverty by building new refineries that will improve local access to high-quality fuels.

Once again, the AEC commends Angola for these efforts. We look forward to seeing the country rack up more successes in the years to come, starting with its push to raise crude oil output to 1.3 million bpd and eventually achieving a just and sustainable energy transition, in which renewable and low-carbon forms of energy are both abundant and easily accessible.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

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Dangote Calls on Africa to Keep its Capital at Home as Industrialization Takes Center Stage at Unstoppable Africa

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10 minutes ago

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September 22, 2026

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Africa

African business leaders call for a bigger share of the continent’s growth, with investment and local value creation high on the agenda

NEW YORK, United States of America, September 22, 2026/APO Group/ –Africa must stop sending its capital abroad and start investing in its own industrial future, Aliko Dangote, President and CEO of Dangote Group, told global business leaders at Unstoppable Africa 2026 today, as he set out an ambitious vision for African industrialization backed by billions of dollars in investment, new refining capacity, and broader public ownership.

 




  

Pointing to Asia’s economic rise, he argued that Africa cannot build comparable industrial strength while its own money continues to flow into foreign banks and markets. Emphasizing the importance of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in creating the scale required for major industrial projects, he noted, “We must believe in our continent,” urging businesses to stay focused despite the challenges involved in building major organizations in Africa. “Once you start, it gets easier. But the more you don’t do anything, it becomes difficult.”

With more than 3,000 African and global business leaders and heads of state gathered for the two-day forum in New York, Unstoppable Africa 2026 demonstrated the scale of global interest in Africa’s economic opportunities and the appetite for stronger commercial partnerships with the continent.

Another notable highlight was the South African Business Initiative for Impact (SABII), which brought South Africa’s business, investment, and partnership proposition into sharper focus. Discussions explored how local opportunities can connect with global capital and translate into tangible economic impact.

Eine Zeidane, Director of the African Department at the International Monetary Fund, highlighted the importance of structural reforms, stronger domestic financial markets, and wider African markets through AfCFTA in attracting private investment.

The discussions also turned to the continent’s rapidly expanding digital economy. Olugbenga Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave, highlighted the opportunity presented by Africa’s young and increasingly connected population, pointing to digital payments, AI, and other technologies that can help businesses access markets and grow.

We must believe in our continent

Elly Savatia, Founder and CEO of Signverse, highlighted technology’s potential to expand inclusion through African sign languages. With U$2 million in Google funding, Signverse has developed the largest publicly documented dataset for an African sign language to date and is building a framework that can expand to multiple local sign languages.

In the sporting arena, H.E. Ndemupelila Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, President of Namibia, signed a partnership agreement between the Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah Foundation (NNN Foundation) and the Queens of the Continent Foundation (QoTC), founded by two-time WNBA All-Star and ESPN host Chiney Ogwumike. The landmark partnership will explore opportunities to support the empowerment and development of young people in Namibia, with a particular focus on girls and young women.

African creative industries take their place on the global stage

The creative economy was another major focus, with speakers highlighting the growing ability of African brands, filmmakers, and technology innovators to build global audiences and markets.

Khanyi Mashimbiye, Manager, Creatives at Afreximbank, highlighted the Afreximbank CANEX program, which connects African fashion brands with international buyers through Tranoï in Paris and Japan and Coterie in New York. Since 2022, the initiative has secured more than 120 offtake agreements, with Zimbabwean brand Vanu Vanwerk now selling in more than 50 stores globally.

Closing the forum, UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed said, “We are entering a new age of technology and AI that will fundamentally shape the future, and Africa has a tremendous opportunity to leapfrog. Just as industrialisation transformed economies and created new forms of work, AI can open new pathways for growth, innovation and opportunity. Africa has the talent and the ideas. What we need is the opportunity, infrastructure and investment to deploy them at scale. This is a moment for Africa to shape its own AI story, combining the continent’s talent with the technology and infrastructure needed to build the future.”

As the conversations concluded, the focus turned to the practical work ahead: translating Africa’s investment momentum into initiatives that can deliver growth, jobs, and lasting economic value.

For event photos, visit HERE (https://apo-opa.co/3TJQpSP). For speakers’ video soundbites and highlights, visit HERE (https://apo-opa.co/477SpHE). The entire event can be viewed on Unstoppable Africa YouTube channel (https://apo-opa.co/4xE0FKs).

For more about GABI please visit the website GABI.UNGlobalCompact.org

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Global Africa Business Initiative.

 

 




 

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Business

Frasers Hospitality unveils Fraser Suites Reserve, a new luxury serviced living brand

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1 hour ago

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September 22, 2026

By

Fraser Suites

Fraser Suites Reserve Bangkok starts welcoming guests at One Bangkok in December 2026
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 22 September 2026 – Frasers Hospitality, a business unit of Frasers Property, today announced Fraser Suites Reserve, a new luxury serviced living brand created for discerning global travellers seeking the privacy, ease and familiarity of home while away, complemented by the service and standards of luxury hospitality.

Building on Frasers Hospitality’s longstanding expertise and established track record in extended stays, Fraser Suites Reserve addresses a distinct segment at the luxury end of the market. Its introduction further sharpens the company’s portfolio of clearly differentiated brands.

 




 
 

“Fraser Suites Reserve represents the next strategic step in strengthening our portfolio,” said Eu Chin Fen, Chief Executive Officer, Frasers Hospitality. “It draws on our experience in long stays, while responding to the evolving expectations of an increasingly sophisticated segment of travellers accustomed to the world’s finest hospitality.”

Time for what matters

Fraser Suites Reserve is anchored in the belief that time is the ultimate luxury for today’s global professionals. Each property brings together refined design, intuitive service, curated wellness and lifestyle experiences intended to make life away from home easier, leaving guests free to focus on what matters most, whether their work, wellbeing, relationships or personal pursuits.

Designed as private sanctuaries within the city, its rooms are designed to offer privacy and calm. Many feature integrated kitchenettes, allowing guests to maintain familiar routines of home while away, an independence that becomes particularly valuable during longer stays. The experience is complemented by the discreet yet highly personalised service of luxury hospitality.

Beyond the rooms, guests can enjoy distinctive dining concepts, wellness and leisure experiences on property, as well as Club Frasers, a private lounge designed for conversation, connection and curated experiences.

“For guests accustomed to the highest standards, luxury service gives the assurance that every detail has been carefully thought through and every need understood,” said Chew Hang Song, Chief Operating Officer, Frasers Hospitality. “With Fraser Suites Reserve, this means providing an experience that feels immediately familiar and deeply human, supported by service that is warm and intuitive, yet respectful of their privacy.”

Wellbeing, made part of everyday

Holistic wellbeing is integrated into the Fraser Suites Reserve experience. At Fraser Suites Reserve Bangkok, the House of Rejuvenation will offer a dedicated environment for recovery and renewal, pairing therapist-led treatments with advanced wellness facilities such as thermal pools, cold plunges, compression therapy, dry flotation and red-light therapy.

Guests will also have access to The Wellness Edit, Frasers Hospitality’s proprietary global wellness programme. Through simple, repeatable everyday rituals that can be incorporated naturally into a guest’s stay, the programme is designed to integrate wellbeing with simple gestures, making wellbeing easier to sustain even amid demanding schedules and frequent travel.

Global debut at One Bangkok

Fraser Suites Reserve Bangkok, the brand’s first property, will begin welcoming guests in December 2026 as part of a phased opening. Its grand opening is planned for March 2027 when the complete range of facilities and experiences will be available.

The 255-room property will occupy the top ten floors of a 45-storey premium office and retail tower at One Bangkok, located right in the heart of Bangkok at the intersection of Rama IV Road and Wireless Road, with panoramic views of the Bangkok skyline and Chao Phraya River with easy access to Bangkok’s dining, entertainment and cultural attractions. Further details to be announced in the coming months.

Find out more about Fraser Suites Reserve at frasershospitality.com/en/our-brands/fraser-suites-reserve/

NOTE:
For more information, please visit www.frasershospitality.com.

About Frasers Hospitality
Frasers Hospitality is a leading investor-operator within the lodging sector, backed by 28 years of proven expertise. Frasers Hospitality specialises in optimising and managing hospitality assets to deliver sustainable value for its stakeholders. As a business unit of Frasers Property Limited, its presence spans Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

With a diversified portfolio of over 100 lodging assets across geographies and segments, Frasers Hospitality offers a comprehensive end-to-end ecosystem of bespoke lodging expertise and solutions to maximise performance, value and growth for its partners across the real estate value chain. Frasers Hospitality is a trusted expert and preferred partner within the lodging sector with a proven track record and a business model optimised to deliver value.

Frasers Hospitality is distinguished by its style of hospitality from their progressive mindset that fosters innovation and matched with an award-winning brand portfolio tailored to new ways of travelling, living and socialising. Recognised globally for our commitment to hospitality excellence, Frasers Hospitality has earned numerous industry accolades and awards, showcasing its leadership in delivering exemplary, quality services, and curating memorable, life-enriching experiences for its guests and residents – by people, for people.

For more information on Frasers Hospitality, please visit www.frasershospitality.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

About Frasers Property Limited
Frasers Property Limited (“Frasers Property” and together with its subsidiaries, the “Frasers Property Group” or the “Group”) is an integrated investor-developer-operator of real estate products and services. Listed on the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (“SGX-ST”) and headquartered in Singapore, the Group has total assets of approximately S$40.0 billion as at 31 March 2026.

Frasers Property operates across five asset classes: industrial & logistics, retail, commercial & business parks, residential and hospitality. Its businesses span Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe and China, and its well-established hospitality business owns and/or operates serviced apartments and hotels in 20 countries.

The Group is the sponsor of real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), Frasers Centrepoint Trust and Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust, listed on the SGX-ST, as well as Frasers Property Thailand Industrial Freehold & Leasehold REIT and Golden Ventures Leasehold Real Estate Investment Trust, listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Guided by its purpose of inspiring experiences and creating places for good, the Group promotes an ESG framework that supports long-term value creation through focus areas such as transparent governance, sustainable finance, inclusive communities and reducing its carbon emissions. Frasers Property aims to deliver lasting shared value for its customers, people, investors and communities, while fostering a progressive, collaborative and respectful culture.

For more information on Frasers Property, please visit frasersproperty.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
 




 

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Energy

Building a Knowledge Hub for China-ASEAN Energy Cooperation

Published

6 hours ago

on

September 22, 2026

By

ASEAN

NANNING, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 21 September 2026 – During the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, China Southern Power Grid showcased a range of innovations designed to support energy cooperation between China and ASEAN. These included the DaWatt – Lao Language Large Language Model (LLM) for the Energy and Power Sector V2.0 and the Flexible Grayscale Intelligent Monitoring & Analysis Platform for power system cybersecurity, highlighting expanding opportunities for cooperation in digitalization, intelligent technologies and green energy.

The Lao-language LLM has been deployed at Electricité du Laos Transmission Company Limited (EDL-T), where it can automatically analyze thousands of inspection images within a short period of time. After its algorithms were optimized for Laos’ mountainous and rainforest terrain, the model completed intelligent inspection analysis for four transmission lines, processing 26,000 drone inspection images and identifying more than 3,600 equipment defects.

 




 
 

Liu Ying, general manager of the Digitalization Department at Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd., said the company has been building multilingual professional corpora for the power sector, covering ASEAN countries including Laos, Vietnam and Malaysia. Drawing on the capabilities of the DaWatt foundation model, the company is developing energy and power models tailored to ASEAN languages and real-world power industry applications.

Talent development is another focus of the cooperation. The China-ASEAN Institute of Energy, jointly established by Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. and Guangxi University, is exploring an industry-university training model with a strong emphasis on practical experience. So far, two cohorts totaling 53 students from ASEAN countries have enrolled.

Cooperation is also evolving from one-way training toward joint innovation. Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. and the Royal Academy of Cambodia have jointly established a laboratory for artificial intelligence and safety equipment, while the company has also launched peer-to-peer exchanges with Electricité du Laos on improving power supply reliability.

To address language barriers in cross-border technical exchanges, Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. has developed an AI-powered translation platform backed by a specialized database containing terminology for more than 1,800 types of power equipment. The platform supports accurate translation between Chinese and English, Chinese and Lao, and Chinese and Vietnamese.

At a recent training program for Chinese and overseas engineers, the system supported one-click generation of bilingual course materials and real-time speech translation, helping participants navigate highly specialized power-sector terminology.

To support regular international exchanges, Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. has also established an international talent pool covering management, technical and skilled personnel. It has developed 24 hours of courses on international affairs as well as 20 short-form video courses.

“This year, we will also explore joint postgraduate programs with universities in ASEAN countries,” said Sun Xiaohua, deputy director of the Human Resources Department at Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd.

Looking ahead, Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. plans to further advance a development model featuring “R&D in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, integration in Guangxi, and application in ASEAN.” The company will continue expanding its multilingual power-sector corpora and explore a “Token Goes Global” model for power-sector AI, with computing resources and models based in Guangxi while knowledge services are delivered overseas. The effort is aimed at creating new forms of China-ASEAN energy cooperation and supporting the green development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0.
 




 

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