TotalEnergies and its partners are set to invest about $10 billion in Angola’s oil industry over the next five years, as the energy giant moves to sustain production and expand exploration in the country’s increasingly mature offshore fields.
TotalEnergies Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne announced the investment plan on Wednesday at an oil conference in Luanda, saying substantial spending would be required if Angola is to maintain its crude output at current levels.
The investment comes as Angola, sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest crude oil producer after Nigeria, seeks to attract fresh investment into its petroleum sector following a series of regulatory reforms aimed at encouraging exploration and extending the life of existing oil fields.
TotalEnergies is Angola’s largest oil operator and currently produces about 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the country. Pouyanne said the company was working to maintain production at roughly that level as Angola seeks to keep national output at around 1 million bpd.
"Investments are necessary to achieve these production levels," he told delegates.
The French energy company is already pursuing several major projects in Angola, including the $6 billion Kaminho development, located about 100 kilometres (62 miles) off the Angolan coast in the Kwanza Basin.
TotalEnergies took the final investment decision on the Kaminho project in 2024. The development is expected to begin production in 2028 and will be connected to the company's seventh Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel in Angola.
The project is regarded as an important component of the company's strategy to maintain its production base in the country while developing additional offshore resources.
Pouyanne also disclosed that TotalEnergies had signed two new exploration licences covering offshore Blocks 17 and 32, in partnership with Exxon Mobil.
The new exploration activity underscores the growing importance of Angola’s offshore acreage as oil companies search for additional reserves capable of offsetting declining production from older fields.
In a further push to improve exploration prospects, TotalEnergies plans to launch an artificial intelligence-powered geoscience initiative with other major companies. The initiative is expected to use AI and advanced geological analysis to identify potential oil resources in Angola’s offshore basins.
Pouyanne said the technology would initially be deployed in the Angolan Basin, where the company believes significant discoveries may still be possible.
"We will apply it first to the Angolan Basin because we are convinced that there are more discoveries to be made, such as those in Block 17 and Block 0," he said.
The announcement comes at a crucial time for Angola, whose oil sector remains central to the national economy but faces the challenge of declining output from mature offshore fields.
For the government, attracting large-scale investment is therefore critical to sustaining production, increasing exploration and ensuring that Angola remains a significant crude oil producer in Africa.
TotalEnergies’ planned investment, alongside its new exploration licences and proposed use of artificial intelligence, signals a continued long-term commitment to Angola’s petroleum industry despite the challenges posed by ageing fields.
With Kaminho expected to come on stream in 2028 and new exploration programmes getting underway, the company is betting that additional offshore discoveries can help replenish Angola’s reserves and support production in the years ahead.