Domestic Companies

Sonangol

Sonangol was set up in 1976 and in 1978 became the sole concessionaire and majority shareholder in all oil and gas exploration in Angola. It is in charge of all petroleum industry activities and these are delegated to 17 subsidiaries including Sonagás, which is responsible for exploration, production and transportation of natural gas. Despite being a state concern, Sonangol has always been governed as a private company and is under strict performance standards to ensure efficiency and productivity.

International oil and gas companies enter into joint ventures and production sharing agreements with Sonangol to develop the country’s oil and gas resources. Initially, Sonangol did not have the expertise to produce oil and so set up a subsidiary called Pesquisa & Producao (P&P) in 1992. P&P learned from international partnerships until it was able to produce oil on its own. It now produces about 10,000 barrels of oil per day from Block 2, which it operates, and 93,000 b/d from Block 3. This is approximately 6% of all crude produced in Angola.

Sonangol is becoming more involved in international ventures - including operations in Brazil, Cuba, Iraq, Sao Tome and Principe, Venezuela and the Gulf of Mexico.

Updated:17/07/2014