Oando expands into Angola with 45% stake in Kwanza Basin Block

Oando Plc has signed a production sharing contract for Block KON 13 in Angola, marking its first operated upstream venture outside Nigeria as the company pushes to expand across Africa’s oil-producing basins.

The agreement was executed with Angola’s oil regulator, Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás e Biocombustíveis, for the onshore block located in the Kwanza Basin.

Oando will hold a 45 percent participating interest through its subsidiary, Oando Exploration and Production Angola Ltd, and will serve as operator.

The move deepens the Lagos-based company’s geographic footprint months after it completed the acquisition of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited, a deal that significantly expanded its domestic reserves and production capacity.

Block KON 13 already has two exploration wells drilled to about 3,000 meters, with oil shows encountered in one of the wells, according to the company.

While commercial volumes have yet to be confirmed, the presence of hydrocarbons reduces early-stage exploration risk and positions the asset for appraisal activity.

The consortium includes Effimax Energy – Serviços, Lda with 30 percent, Sonangol Exploração & Produção with 15 percent, and Walcot Ltd with 10 percent.

Group Chief Executive Wale Tinubu said the contract execution advances Oando’s pan-African growth strategy and reflects its intent to replicate its Nigerian operating model in other African jurisdictions.

The Angola entry represents the company’s first operated international joint venture, a structural shift from being largely Nigeria-focused.

Oando’s upstream portfolio now spans 14 oil and gas assets across Nigeria and São Tomé and Príncipe, covering more than 22,000 square kilometers.

The company says its infrastructure includes crude handling capacity of 483,000 barrels per day, gas handling capacity of 3.66 billion standard cubic feet per day, a 1-gigawatt power plant and over 1,200 kilometers of pipeline network.

Angola, sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest crude producer after Nigeria, has been seeking to revive upstream investment through licensing rounds and fiscal reforms aimed at offsetting natural production declines in mature offshore fields.

Oando’s entry into an onshore Kwanza Basin block signals growing regional integration among African independents as international oil majors continue to rationalize portfolios.

For Oando, the Angola expansion provides geographic diversification, additional reserve upside and operatorship outside its home market — a strategic step as it seeks to position itself as a continental energy player rather than a domestic champion.