Angola Accelerates Strategic Shift Toward Non-Associated Gas Development
Angola is accelerating a strategic shift in its gas sector, moving beyond reliance on associated gas reinjection toward non-associated gas development, LNG optimization, expanded midstream infrastructure, and rising domestic demand. The transition marks a critical inflection point in the country’s long-term energy strategy as declining oil output heightens the need to maximize gas monetization.
For much of its post-independence history, Angola treated natural gas as a secondary byproduct of oil production, with large volumes of associated gas reinjected into reservoirs to maintain pressure and support offshore crude operations. While this approach helped sustain oil output, it also delayed the commercialization of gas resources and limited development of a domestic gas market.
Angola’s first meaningful step into gas monetization came with the launch of the Angola LNG project in 2008. The facility, located in Soyo, enabled the country to reduce flaring and monetize associated gas from offshore blocks operated by ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, bp, Eni, and Chevron. However, despite years of LNG exports, structural constraints persist, with roughly half of Angola’s associated gas production still reinjected today, underscoring the vulnerability of LNG supply to declining oil output.
Progress is beginning to materialize on the non-associated gas front. In late 2024, Chevron achieved first gas from the Sanha Lean Gas project in Block 0, delivering incremental feedgas to Angola LNG. More significantly, the New Gas Consortium led by Azule Energy in partnership with Sonangol, Equinor, and Acrep is advancing the Quiluma and Maboqueiro non-associated gas fields in the Lower Congo Basin. These projects are expected to begin supplying gas by 2026, marking Angola’s first large-scale move away from oil-dependent gas production.
Exploration momentum is also improving. In mid-2025, Azule Energy announced a gas discovery at the Gajajeira-01 well in Block 1/14, reinforcing the potential of Angola’s shallow-water gas plays. Additional exploration is planned in the Congo Fan and Namibe basins, signaling renewed upstream interest in gas-focused prospects.
However, several gas-dominated discoveries, particularly in the deepwater Kwanza Basin, remain stranded. High development costs, technical complexity, and the absence of evacuation infrastructure continue to delay commercialization. Midstream constraints remain the sector’s most significant challenge, with unlocking stranded gas resources requiring substantial investment in offshore and onshore pipelines, connections to domestic demand centers near Luanda, and potential extensions to Soyo to access Angola LNG.
Angola is also positioning natural gas as a driver of domestic industrialization and economic diversification. Power generation represents the anchor of near-term demand, led by the 750-MW Soyo combined-cycle power plant and planned capacity expansions aimed at improving grid reliability and reducing reliance on diesel. Beyond power, a proposed ammonia production facility in Soyo could significantly increase gas consumption while supporting downstream value addition and export diversification.
Source: angolanminingoilandgas.com
