As Angola works to sustain production above one million barrels per day while advancing a projected $70 billion upstream investment pipeline, Afonso believes the country's recent regulatory reforms have laid much of the groundwork for long-term success.

"I believe that countries with a proven record, countries with a stable economic environment for this industry, stable contracts that are respected by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Petroleum, the regulator and investors, as we have here in Angola, are the perfect scenario to attract investors," said Afonso. "That is one of the key aspects that differentiates Angola from other countries."

While global capital has become increasingly selective amid geopolitical uncertainty and shifting market dynamics, Afonso argued that Angola's appeal extends beyond its upstream potential. Investments in refining, logistics and export infrastructure have strengthened the country's position as an integrated energy hub capable of supporting long-term industry growth.

"Angola invested heavily over the last 10 years to become a true energy hub," he said. "The country has invested significantly across the entire oil and gas value chain, while also strengthening the logistical infrastructure that supports the business. Altogether, this makes Angola a strong place for investment."

Despite this progress, Afonso believes project execution remains one of the country's biggest challenges. While reforms introduced in recent years have helped shorten development timelines, further improvements will be needed if Angola is to translate new investment into sustained production growth.

“The key focus should be reducing the time to market of each project," he said. "Improving this time to market will lead to maintaining current production levels. The government and the regulator have already implemented important changes that accelerated project delivery, but there are still opportunities to improve.”

The challenge is particularly relevant for Angola's growing number of independent operators pursuing opportunities in the country's onshore basins. According to Afonso, traditional bank financing remains difficult for smaller exploration companies because of concentrated project risk. Instead, he expects strategic partnerships with larger industry players and commodity trading companies to become an increasingly important source of capital.

"What we are seeing are new ways of financing these operations," he said. "Smaller companies are increasingly partnering with stronger companies and trading entities that have available capital and a strong interest in this business. We believe this can be the future in the short and medium term."

At the same time, Afonso emphasized that government policy should remain flexible enough to reflect the differing economics of individual projects rather than applying a one-size-fits-all fiscal model across the sector.

"One rule does not fit all assets… The flexibility of each contract to create the appropriate tax approach for each project will be critical to bringing different assets on stream."

Looking ahead to AOG 2026, Afonso said the conference provides an important platform for aligning government, regulators and industry around the practical steps needed to improve project delivery while showcasing the progress Angola has made over the past seven years.

"This is the perfect forum to bring visibility to what is being done in Angola," he said. "It brings together the government, regulators and investors to demonstrate that the path is clear and will continue. It also connects discussions around upstream development, gas, financing and technology, allowing the country's most important industry to flourish over the next 25 years."