Angola's National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG) marked its seventh anniversary on 6 February 2026 with a press conference in Luanda, presenting a comprehensive account of its achievements since establishment in 2019 and unveiling an ambitious new strategic cycle covering 2026 to 2030. Under the leadership of Chairman Paulino Jerónimo, the agency used the occasion to reaffirm its central role in shaping Angola's upstream energy future and to signal clearly that its most impactful work is still ahead.
Seven Years of Measurable Progress
Since its creation by Presidential Decree on 6 February 2019 as Angola's national concessionaire, regulator, and upstream oversight body, the ANPG has overseen a transformation in Angola's exploration and production landscape that few would have predicted at its founding. Over its first seven years, the agency supervised the award of more than 40 concessions and the drilling of 31 new wells activity that has yielded estimated discoveries of over 2.7 billion barrels of oil and 2.24 trillion cubic feet of gas. These are not marginal additions to Angola's resource base. They are material discoveries that meaningfully extend the country's production horizon and underpin the long-term investment case for Angolan hydrocarbons.
Equally significant was the agency's role in restarting Angola's licensing rounds after a hiatus of nearly a decade. That resumption marked a decisive turning point in the country's exploratory activity, re-engaging international capital and signalling that Angola was once again open and competitive for upstream investment. The ANPG also prioritised the revitalisation of mature fields through incremental production projects, a deliberate strategy to slow the natural decline curve and stabilise national output during a period when new discoveries were still moving through development timelines.
The New Strategic Cycle: 2026–2030
With seven years of foundation-building behind it, the ANPG is now entering a new phase, one defined by greater ambition, broader scope, and a sharper focus on positioning Angola competitively in a rapidly evolving global energy landscape. The 2026–2030 strategic cycle, presented at the anniversary event, centres on five interconnected priorities: continued production growth and decline mitigation, accelerated investment attraction, enhanced regulatory efficiency and transparency, sustainability integration, and positive social impact in the communities where the sector operates.
Chairman Paulino Jerónimo framed the new cycle with characteristic directness, stating that the agency's new identity reflects the evolution of the national concessionaire and demonstrates that "Angola has energy for more" delivering greater clarity in regulation, stronger investor confidence, deeper integration across energy sources, and a more sustainable future for the country.
Gas and Biofuels: Expanding Angola's Energy Identity
One of the most strategically significant dimensions of the ANPG's new cycle is its explicit embrace of a broader energy mandate. Natural gas, which has historically played a supporting role in Angola's predominantly oil-focused upstream sector, is now being positioned as an increasingly central pillar of the country's energy mix. The agency highlighted growing gas supply to Angola LNG, dedicated gas well discoveries, and the potential for gas to diversify Angola's energy revenue base as key drivers of this repositioning.
Equally notable is the agency's first steps into the biofuels space, a development that formally extends ANPG's mandate beyond conventional hydrocarbons and opens the door to new energy value chains. While biofuels remain at an early stage within Angola's energy portfolio, their inclusion under ANPG's oversight signals a deliberate alignment with global energy transition trends and a recognition that the agency's long-term relevance depends on its ability to govern a diversifying energy mix, not just oil and gas alone.
A New Brand for a New Era
To mark the launch of its new strategic cycle, the ANPG also unveiled a refreshed institutional identity at the anniversary event. The new brand has been designed to reflect the full diversity of energy sources now under the agency's remit oil, gas, and biofuels and to communicate Angola's ambition to compete and thrive on the international energy stage with a more integrated, forward-looking energy profile.
The rebranding is more than cosmetic. It is a statement of institutional intent. In a global energy environment increasingly shaped by environmental requirements, diversifying energy sources, tightening regulatory standards, and intensifying competition for upstream investment capital, the ANPG is signaling that it intends to be an institution fit for that environment agile, transparent, internationally engaged, and strategically coherent.
Social Impact: Energy as a Vehicle for Development
The ANPG's anniversary was also an occasion to highlight the sector's role as a driver of social development across Angola. Over the past seven years, the agency oversaw the execution of more than 150 corporate social responsibility projects, encompassing the construction and rehabilitation of schools, support for healthcare facilities, and initiatives spanning culture, environmental stewardship, microenterprise development, and sport. These projects reflect a conviction that Angola's energy sector carries responsibilities that extend beyond production targets and investment returns and that the communities in proximity to hydrocarbon activity should be direct beneficiaries of the wealth it generates.
The Road Ahead
As the ANPG enters its eighth year and the first year of its new strategic cycle, the agency does so in a sector that is simultaneously full of opportunity and navigating genuine complexity. Angola's hydrocarbon resources remain among the most significant on the continent. Its investment framework has been steadily strengthened. Its project pipeline from deepwater oil to non-associated gas to frontier exploration is active and advancing. And its regulatory institution has seven years of operational experience and institutional credibility behind it.
The combination of a proven track record, a clearly articulated forward strategy, and a government committed to making 2026 the year that projects convert into production and economic impact creates a compelling backdrop for the investment community watching Angola's energy story unfold. For operators and investors already active in the country, the ANPG's new cycle offers greater regulatory clarity and a stronger partnership framework. For those evaluating entry, it offers evidence that Angola's upstream governance is maturing in step with its ambitions.
Connect With Us