Speaking ahead of the event, Geraldine Geraldo, Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer at Corcel, said the company's 2025–2026 seismic campaign successfully identified its target structures and advanced them into drill-ready prospects. Processing of the newly acquired data is now underway.

“We’re very confident in our ability to actually have the first significant commercial discovery in the onshore in Angola, and that will be in the pre-salt Kwanza basin,” Geraldo said.

Corcel is targeting an area previously penetrated by a well that encountered strong oil shows. Geraldo also highlighted geological similarities between structures identified on KON 16 and the Cameia discovery, located approximately 100 km away and now forming part of TotalEnergies' Kaminho deepwater development.

According to Geraldo, an onshore discovery exceeding 300 million barrels could offer significant economic upside given the lower development costs associated with onshore operations, generating additional tax revenues for Angola while strengthening returns for investors and block partners.

Corcel is also advancing the KON 11 and KON 12 blocks alongside operator Sonangol. The acreage includes the historically producing Tobias and Galinda fields, where improved seismic imaging and enhanced recovery technologies could unlock additional value while helping identify new pre- and post-salt prospects.

“Besides those fields, the KON 11 and KON 12 acreage have also got additional potential. There are multiple prospects that we’ve seen. We’re now preparing those two blocks to go through the same trajectory as KON 16 through a 2D seismic campaign using very high-quality seismic and stringent parameters,” Geraldo added.

At AOG 2026, Corcel is expected to showcase the next phase of its Angolan exploration strategy while engaging with government representatives, operators, partners and service providers. Geraldo described the conference as a platform that delivers tangible value through business development, asset opportunities and strategic partnerships.

“We support the platform. We sponsor the conference and have done so for two years in a row,” said Geraldo. “There is a lot of value generated from it.”

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