Speaking during a Dubai Investments Park-sponsored panel discussion at Angola Oil & Gas 2024, Strydom shared that similar visits have been conducted in other regional countries including Namibia and Tanzania. The industry visit aims to promote market access for South African firms while paving the way for knowledge-sharing in oil and gas.

“At SAOGA, we connect our members to opportunities and knowledge. So, we are looking at regional developments and assessing what we can do support those countries. If Angola wins, the region wins. From that perspective, we encourage our members to collaborate and network,” he said.

Angola has garnered a reputation for being an easy market to invest in. Progressive regulatory reforms, strengthened fiscals and a focus on promoting market opportunities has led to robust activity in recent months. While energy majors account for the majority of oil and gas production, the country offers strategic prospects for independent E&P firms seeking high returns in an established market.

For Red Sky Energy, Angola is a particularly attractive market. The company’s CEO Andrew Knox stated during the panel that the company would be interested in non-operated opportunities in the country, with a focus on joining an already-producing block.

“We are looking to diversify and de-risk our asset base. Angola is very friendly to oil and gas and its why we’re looking here. There is a lot of deal flow and opportunity – not only on the exploration front but to buy-in to existing production. There is movement and fields that have not been worked or developed that are certainly good for us. There is good local content here, opportunities to vertically integrate downstream. We are focused on Angola at this point,” he said.

Reiterating the attractiveness of Angola, Tim O’Hanlon, Senior Advisor at Panoro Energy, emphasized the benefits of investing in a mature market such as Angola. Producing since the 1960s, Angola has a wealth of experience in exploration and production, with a diverse slate of companies operating in the market.

“The old-timers who have been producing for over 50 years are a pleasure to do business in. They understand the investors side of discussions. Angola is a perfect example of this and they are doing all the right things to address production decline and incentivize companies to do business. When you’re a minor company, you don’t have to be everywhere like the majors do. You need to see whether the place is good to do business in addition to geological potential. This is Angola,” O’Hanlon remarked.