Multi-energies in Angola toaday

It’s the first multi-energy operation we have announced in Angola. It was very important for us. There are three parts to the project: an oil part, a gas part and renewable electricity. The great thing about the deal, is that each part is very closely aligned with our ambition and the strategy the Company is deploying.

Starting with the first project, Begonia (the Oil part), that’s around 80 million barrels, discovered just over ten years ago. And we’ll be able to develop it at low cost, with low carbon.

Low cost because we’re going to try and optimize an existing facility, connecting five subsea wells to Block 17’s Pazflor production platform. So, we’re producing from another block, Block 17/06, on Block 17. We’ve also managed to standardize some subsea installations and hence to reduce costs.

So, it’s low cost, but also low carbon: marginally, the additional barrels will emit very little CO₂. We’re going to reduce the carbon intensity of the current FPSO Pazflor facility. That’s the first part.

Second is the Gas project: the Quiluma and Maboqueiro fields, which are part of a wider project, Angola’s New Gas Consortium. We will be producing non-associated gas in Angola for the first time. Today in Angola, we are producing gas associated with oil production. Now, for the first time, alongside our partners, we will develop a gas field of around 2 tcf, mainly supplying the Angola LNG plant and, ultimately, exporting LNG on the international markets, especially Europe and Asia.

In the current situation, being able to produce more liquefied natural gas is very important. So that’s another great project, which will also supply a small share of production to the domestic market to generate electricity.

And the third part is completely new, because we’ve traditionally produced oil and gas in Angola: we’re going to launch a solar power plant in southern Angola, in the town of Lubango, in a very sunny part of the country. We will launch the first phase of the project, called Quilemba: a 35 MW installation in partnership, interestingly, with Sonangol, the national company in Angola, and our historic partner, and also with Greentech, a local Angolan business, and our private partner for the project. 35 MW is the first phase.

We have negotiated a PPA, or Power Purchase Agreement, with the national company. We hope to launch a second phase: potentially another 45 MW, taking us to 80 MW, to step up solar electricity production in Angola.

I have no doubt that the first project is small by the Company’s standards because 35 MW of solar power compared to our ambition for 100 GW of installed capacity worldwide by 2030, is nothing. But we hope that this first step will take us towards other projects, more substantial projects. That’s our objective for Angola.