Oando Plc has secured a production sharing contract (PSC) for Block KON-13 in Angola, marking its long-anticipated entry into one of Africa’s leading oil-producing nations and highlighting a growing role for indigenous energy companies across the continent.
The agreement, confirmed by Angola’s National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG), grants Oando a 45% interest in the onshore Kwanza Basin block, where it will serve as the operator. Other stakeholders include Effimax Energy (30%), the state-owned Sonangol (15%), and Walcot Ltd (10%).
Block KON-13 is considered a high-potential site, with Angola’s regulator estimating prospective reserves of between 770 million and 1.1 billion barrels of crude.
Early exploration work is promising: two wells drilled to roughly 3,000 metres have already encountered oil and gas indicators, reducing initial development risks and providing a clearer path for production planning.
This marks Oando’s first operated upstream project outside Nigeria, signaling its ambitions to expand a pan-African oil and gas portfolio at a time when international oil companies are reducing their onshore exposure across Africa.
“The signing of this Production Sharing Contract broadens our footprint across Africa,” said Wale Tinubu, Oando’s group CEO. “We bring technical expertise and a strong mandate to deliver value for all partners involved.”
Oando’s expansion into Angola follows strategic moves elsewhere. In 2024, the company acquired assets from Nigerian Agip Oil Company, previously owned by Italy’s Eni, for $783 million, gaining operatorship of multiple onshore oil mining leases in the Niger Delta.
That acquisition was among the largest transfers of upstream assets from an international oil company to a local Nigerian firm, underlining a shift in Africa’s energy landscape.
As global oil majors increasingly focus on offshore fields and lower-carbon initiatives, local and regional independents are stepping in to manage legacy onshore and frontier assets.
Angola itself has been encouraging renewed investment in its onshore basins, which were previously overshadowed by deepwater projects.
The Kwanza Onshore Basin, covering approximately 25,000 square kilometres, has attracted attention through licensing rounds aimed at unlocking untapped reserves in both pre-salt and post-salt formations.
Oando currently holds stakes in 14 oil and gas assets across Nigeria and São Tomé and Príncipe, covering more than 22,000 square kilometres, with infrastructure capable of processing nearly 500,000 barrels of oil daily.
The KON-13 PSC strengthens Oando’s upstream portfolio while highlighting the growing trend of cross-border investment by African companies, increasingly leading projects once dominated by foreign operators.