Luanda- The minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, said Tuesday that the Angolan government will continue to take steps to attract more investments in hydrocarbon exploration, development and production and to improve all the necessary legislation for this activity to be carried out in a balanced way and attract more investors.
Diamantino Azevedo was speaking at the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding to improve the contract terms for blocks 30, 44 and 45 in the Namibe basin, between the National Petroleum and Gas Agency (ANPG) and the consortium established between ExxonMobil and the State oil company Sonangol.
In this phase of energy transition, the oil minister said it is necessary for this mineral resource to continue to demonstrate its importance for the development of the country to improve the quality of life of the population.
"We are increasingly convinced that without hydrocarbons and other mineral resources that the country possesses, it will be difficult for us to achieve development and fight poverty, including energy poverty," the minister said.
The minister added that Angola will continue with its oil activity, which would require more attention to environmental issues, underlining that measures are still being taken for the extraction industry to develop taking into account climate change.
In relation to the signed memo, the minister said it represents a moment of paramount importance for the Angolan government, since this is part of the needed strategy to maintain certain stability in the country’s oil output and to be able to continue to exploit this resource for some time to come.
“We congratulate ExxonMobil and Sonangol for this project and hope that it is carried out in all aspects and in due time", the minister said, expressing institutional support.
