ExxonMobil has confirmed it will join AOG 2026 as a Gold Sponsor, aligning the supermajor with Angola’s next phase of upstream expansion. The conference will take place in Luanda on 9–10 September, with a pre-conference day on 8 September. It will convene operators, investors, financiers and policymakers around the country’s long-term production strategy.

Angola is pursuing more than US$70 billion in upstream investment over the second half of the decade. This is supported by reforms that have streamlined approvals and strengthened investor confidence. Policymakers aim to sustain crude output above one million barrels per day while opening new acreage and accelerating project sanctioning.

ExxonMobil remains one of Angola’s leading international operators, with interests in producing deepwater Blocks 15, 17 and 32. The company has positioned itself at the centre of Luanda’s effort to combine mature asset redevelopment with frontier exploration. Its goal is to stabilise and then rebuild production. Its sponsorship at AOG 2026 underscores that strategy and signals continued capital deployment in the offshore sector.

Momentum in 2026 has been reinforced by the redevelopment of Block 15. ExxonMobil has awarded a major engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) subsea tie-back contract for the Likembe Redevelopment 2.0 Project. This is designed to restore and increase production by using existing infrastructure. This approach extends the productive life of one of Angola’s most prolific offshore assets while improving capital efficiency — an increasingly important metric as global capital becomes more selective.

The redevelopment follows an extension of the Block 15 production-sharing agreement through the next decade, enabling continued operations and new investment on the block. The renewed framework supports further redevelopment activity. It also extends the operational life of the Kizomba A, Kizomba B, Mondo and Saxi-Batuque floating production, storage and offloading units (FPSOs), anchoring medium-term output. Together with an 18-well redevelopment campaign that lifted Block 15 production by about 30%, and recent discoveries such as Bavuca South-1 and Likembe-01, the project shows how brownfield investment can still drive growth.

Frontier Namibe Basin emerges alongside mature-field gains

Alongside mature field work, ExxonMobil is expanding its exploration footprint as part of a dual-track offshore strategy. The company is assessing opportunities in Angola’s frontier Namibe Basin following completion of the basin’s first exploration well. It has continued geological and data analysis to gauge long-term resource potential. Recent agreements with other majors on Namibe and neighbouring Benguela Basin acreage point to rising confidence in Angola’s remaining deepwater prospectivity.

At the same time, other operators are committing sizeable capital, reinforcing the broader Angola upstream investment story. Azule Energy, the BP–Eni joint venture, recently took a final investment decision on the US$5.1 billion Greater PAJ offshore project, with first oil expected in 2029. The deal confirms Angola’s ability to attract large-scale funding even as global portfolios tilt towards lower-carbon assets.

National oil company Sonangol‘s return to AOG 2026 as Diamond Sponsor further signals alignment between state and private capital around a long-duration hydrocarbon strategy. The event is set to be a focal point for discussions on licensing rounds, mature field redevelopment, new technology deployment and partnerships needed to support production and fiscal stability.

For investors, ExxonMobil’s enhanced profile at AOG 2026 — combined with its execution on Block 15 and growing interest in the Namibe Basin — indicates that Angola’s offshore remains a core part of the supermajor’s portfolio.

The next signal to watch will be how quickly redevelopment projects translate into sustained national output above one million barrels per day, and whether exploration in Namibe and Benguela delivers commercial discoveries that extend the country’s export horizon into the 2030s.

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