US investors eye $60 billion energy goldmine in Angola

• US investors are now eyeing new frontiers—ranging from gas monetization and mineral development to solar and green hydrogen investments in Angola.
• Luanda has unveiled over $60 billion in oil and gas investment prospects through its National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency.
• These investments span exploration, development, gas processing, refining and midstream infrastructure.

Angola is charting a bold new course in its energy diplomacy—one that could redefine its economic trajectory and deepen its global alliances. Recently, Angola’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, and U.S. Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, reaffirmed their nations’ shared vision for a dynamic, future-focused energy partnership at a meeting in Washington, D.C.

Flanked by Angola’s Ambassador to the U.S., Agostinho Van-Dúnem, the talks signaled a strategic pivot from traditional oil and gas cooperation toward a broader agenda encompassing critical minerals and renewable energy.

With American companies already entrenched in Angola’s offshore energy investment, both sides are now eyeing new frontiers—ranging from gas monetization and mineral development to solar and green hydrogen investments. At the heart of this evolving alliance is a powerful proposition: harnessing Angola’s natural wealth and the U.S.’s capital and technology to fuel sustainable growth and secure supply chains for the global clean energy transition.

Angola and US investors explore balanced energy transition

“This meeting reflects the robust and evolving partnership between Angola and the United States. We are committed to working together to achieve a balanced energy transition – one that leverages Angola’s natural resources, advances technological cooperation and contributes meaningfully to our economic transformation and development goals,” stated Minister Azevedo.

With more than nine billion barrels of proven oil reserves and 11 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, Angola has unveiled over $60 billion in oil and gas investment prospects through its National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG). These span exploration, development, gas processing, refining and midstream infrastructure.

A licensing round set to launch this year will offer ten new blocks in the Kwanza and Benguela basins, while 11 additional blocks are open for direct negotiation, alongside five marginal field opportunities.

U.S. firms continue to play a foundational role in Angola’s energy landscape. Earlier this month, ExxonMobil, as a joint venture partner alongside operator TotalEnergies, secured an extension of the PSC for Block 17, enabling continued deepwater exploration and development in this prolific basin and underscoring its long-term commitment to Angola’s offshore sector.

Meanwhile, ExxonMobil is advancing the redevelopment of Block 15 – where over 2.6 billion barrels have already been produced – with an 18-well program extending the block’s life by more than two decades and yielding two new discoveries. The company is also undertaking prospective studies on Blocks 17/06 and 32/21, in collaboration with TotalEnergies and ANPG, aiming to identify future drilling targets.

Gas development

Chevron, through its affiliate Cabinda Gulf Oil Company, is leading Angola’s gas development efforts. The company has ramped up gas supply to 600 million cubic feet per day to the Angola LNG plant and achieved first gas earlier this year from its Sanha Lean Gas Connection Project, which will supply both the Soyo power plants and Angola LNG.

Angola LNG – one of sub-Saharan Africa’s few operational LNG export terminals – offers a strategic entry point for U.S. firms into global LNG supply chains. As part of the New Gas Consortium, Chevron is also developing Angola’s first non-associated gas project, set to come online in late 2025 or early 2026.

Downstream and midstream projects are another key pillar of Angola’s energy transformation. Construction is advancing on the $920-million Cabinda Refinery, with U.S. firms engaged in engineering and procurement roles.

The U.S.-backed Lobito Corridor – a major infrastructure initiative connecting Angola’s Lobito port to Zambia and the DRC – is poised to boost regional energy transport and industrialization, offering additional opportunities for American companies in logistics, storage and rail-linked energy infrastructure.

Complementary investments in storage terminals, fuel distribution and domestic refining capacity are helping Angola reduce its reliance on imports and increase energy self-sufficiency. The engagement marks a renewed commitment to aligning U.S.-Angola energy collaboration with the goals of sustainable development, energy security and economic modernization.

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