This glossary provides definitions for more than 200 terms commonly used in Angola’s oil and gas industry, spanning upstream exploration and production, midstream transportation and processing, downstream refining and distribution, LNG, fiscal and regulatory terminology, and Angola-specific terminology. Whether you are a new entrant to the sector, an investor evaluating opportunities, or a professional seeking a quick reference, this glossary serves as an authoritative guide.
A
Abandonment: The process of permanently closing a well and removing production facilities at the end of a field’s economic life. Also called decommissioning. In Angola, abandonment obligations are defined in production sharing agreements.
Acidizing: A well stimulation technique where acid is pumped into a reservoir to dissolve rock and increase permeability, improving the flow of hydrocarbons.
AIPEX: Agencia de Investimento Privado e Promocao das Exportacoes de Angola. Angola’s private investment and export promotion agency, responsible for facilitating foreign direct investment.
Angola LNG: A 5.2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) liquefied natural gas plant located at Soyo, northern Angola, operated by Chevron with partners Sonangol, TotalEnergies, ENI, and BP.
ANPG: Agencia Nacional de Petroleo, Gas e Biocombustiveis. Angola’s national oil, gas, and biofuels agency. Functions as the national concessionaire and upstream regulator. See our article on how oil block licensing works in Angola for ANPG’s role.
API Gravity: A measurement of crude oil density developed by the American Petroleum Institute. Higher API values indicate lighter oils. Angolan grades range from approximately 23 (Dalia) to 38 (Nemba). See Angola’s crude oil grades.
Appraisal Well: A well drilled after a discovery to determine the size, quality, and commercial viability of a reservoir.
Associated Gas: Natural gas found in conjunction with crude oil, either dissolved in the oil or as a gas cap above the oil reservoir. Much of Angola’s gas production is associated gas.
B
Barrel (bbl): The standard unit of measurement for crude oil, equal to 42 US gallons or approximately 159 liters.
Barrel of Oil Equivalent (boe): A unit of energy combining oil and gas volumes, where approximately 6,000 cubic feet of natural gas equals one barrel of oil.
Benchmark Crude: A standardized crude oil grade used as a pricing reference. Dated Brent is the primary benchmark for Angolan crude pricing.
Bid Round: A competitive process in which companies submit offers to acquire exploration and production rights for oil and gas blocks. ANPG conducts bid rounds for Angolan blocks.
Block: A defined geographic area licensed for petroleum exploration and production. Angolan offshore blocks are numbered sequentially (Block 14, Block 15, Block 17, etc.).
Blowout: An uncontrolled release of hydrocarbons from a well, representing a major safety and environmental hazard.
Blowout Preventer (BOP): Safety equipment installed on a wellhead to prevent uncontrolled flow from the well.
Brent Crude: The international crude oil benchmark, derived from North Sea production, used as the reference price for Angolan and other Atlantic Basin crudes.
Brownfield Development: Development of new production capacity using existing infrastructure, as opposed to greenfield development.
C
CABGOC: Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited. Chevron’s operating subsidiary in Angola, managing production from the Cabinda onshore and shallow-water complex.
Capex (Capital Expenditure): Investment spending on long-lived assets such as wells, platforms, pipelines, and processing facilities.
Carried Interest: An arrangement where one party’s share of costs is paid by another party. Common in farm-in transactions. See oil block farm-in opportunities.
Christmas Tree: An assembly of valves, spools, and fittings installed on a completed well to control the flow of hydrocarbons.
Completion: The process of making a well ready for production, including installing casing, perforating, and installing production equipment.
Concession: A government grant of rights to explore for and produce hydrocarbons within a defined area.
Condensate: Light liquid hydrocarbons that exist as gas in the reservoir but condense to liquid form at surface temperature and pressure.
Cost Oil / Cost Recovery: The portion of production allocated to the contractor to recover exploration, development, and operating costs. Under Decree 8/24, cost recovery is capped at 70 percent. See how a PSA works.
Coring: Extracting cylindrical samples of rock from a wellbore for geological and reservoir analysis.
Crude Oil: Unrefined petroleum as it is extracted from the subsurface. Angola produces multiple crude grades. See Angola’s crude oil grades.
D
Dated Brent: The spot price assessment for physical Brent crude cargo deliveries, serving as the primary pricing benchmark for Angolan crude.
Decline Rate: The rate at which production from a well or field decreases over time due to reservoir depletion.
Deepwater: Water depths typically exceeding 500 meters (1,640 feet). Most of Angola’s production comes from deepwater fields.
Delineation Well: See Appraisal Well.
Development Plan: A comprehensive plan submitted to the regulatory authority detailing how a discovered field will be developed, including wells, facilities, and investment schedule.
Discovery: A well result that encounters hydrocarbons in sufficient quantities to warrant further evaluation.
Downstream: Activities related to refining crude oil into finished products and distributing them to consumers. See upstream, midstream, and downstream explained.
Drillship: A ship equipped with drilling equipment, used for deepwater exploration and development drilling.
Dry Hole: An exploration well that fails to encounter commercial hydrocarbons.
E
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR): Techniques used to increase the amount of oil that can be extracted from a reservoir beyond what is achievable through natural drive mechanisms. Methods include water injection, gas injection, and chemical flooding.
Exploration Well: A well drilled in an unproven area to test for the presence of hydrocarbons.
Export Terminal: Facility where crude oil is loaded onto tankers for shipment to international markets. Angola uses primarily FPSO-based and offshore buoy loading systems.
F
Farm-In: An agreement where an incoming company acquires an interest in a block from an existing license holder, typically by funding exploration or development work. See oil block farm-in opportunities.
Farm-Out: The reverse of a farm-in; an existing license holder transfers a portion of its interest to an incoming company.
FATF: Financial Action Task Force. An intergovernmental body that sets standards for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing. Angola was grey-listed in October 2024.
FID (Final Investment Decision): The formal decision by a company or joint venture to proceed with a major capital project, committing the required funding.
Flowline: A pipeline connecting a wellhead or subsea manifold to a processing facility.
FPSO (Floating Production, Storage and Offloading): A floating vessel used to process and store crude oil produced from nearby subsea wells. Angola’s deepwater production relies heavily on FPSOs. See FPSOs explained.
Frontier Basin: An exploration area with limited drilling and unproven petroleum systems, such as Angola’s Namibe Basin.
G
Gas Flaring: The controlled burning of natural gas that is not commercially captured. Angola is working to reduce flaring through gas monetization initiatives.
Gas-to-Liquids (GTL): Technology that converts natural gas into liquid fuels such as diesel and naphtha.
Gas-to-Power: The use of natural gas as fuel for electricity generation.
Greenfield Development: Development of a new production facility in an area without existing infrastructure.
H
HSE (Health, Safety and Environment): The management discipline encompassing worker safety, occupational health, and environmental protection.
Hydrocarbons: Organic compounds consisting of hydrogen and carbon atoms, including crude oil and natural gas.
I
Infill Drilling: Drilling additional wells in an existing field to access unswept oil and improve recovery.
IRDP: Instituto Regulador dos Derivados de Petroleo. Angola’s petroleum product pricing regulator. See how Angola’s petroleum product pricing works.
IRSEA: Instituto Regulador dos Servicos de Electricidade e de Agua. Angola’s electricity and water regulatory authority.
J-K
Joint Operating Agreement (JOA): A contract between partners in a petroleum block that governs operations, cost sharing, and decision-making.
Kick: An influx of formation fluids into the wellbore during drilling, which, if uncontrolled, can lead to a blowout.
Kwanza Basin: An offshore sedimentary basin in Angola containing significant pre-salt hydrocarbon prospects. Site of TotalEnergies’ Kaminho FPSO development.
L
Licensee: A company or group that holds the rights to explore for and produce hydrocarbons in a specific block.
LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas): Natural gas cooled to approximately minus 162 degrees Celsius, at which point it becomes a liquid and can be transported by specialized tankers.
Local Content: Policies requiring the use of domestic labor, goods, and services in petroleum operations. Angola’s local content requirements are set by Presidential Decree 271/20.
Lower Congo Basin: Angola’s most prolific petroleum province, hosting the majority of producing deepwater blocks.
LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas): A mixture of propane and butane gases compressed into liquid form, used primarily as cooking and heating fuel. See LPG distribution in Angola.
M
Manifold: A subsea structure that connects multiple wellheads and directs flow to a single export pipeline or riser.
MIREMPET: Ministerio dos Recursos Minerais, Petroleo e Gas. Angola’s Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas.
Midstream: Activities related to the transportation and processing of hydrocarbons between production (upstream) and end-user markets (downstream).
MPLA: Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola. Angola’s ruling political party since independence in 1975.
N-O
Namibe Basin: A frontier offshore basin in southern Angola, largely unexplored.
NGC: New Gas Consortium. A consortium led by Chevron advancing the $4 billion Soyo gas expansion.
Non-Associated Gas: Natural gas found in reservoirs that do not contain significant quantities of crude oil.
Offtake Agreement: A contract for the purchase of a project’s output (crude oil, LNG, refined products) over a defined period.
Opex (Operating Expenditure): Ongoing costs of operating and maintaining production facilities.
OPEC: Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Angola was a member from 2007 to January 2024. See Angola after OPEC.
P-Q
Petroleum Income Tax (PIT): The tax assessed on contractor profit oil under Angola’s fiscal regime.
Pre-Emption Right: The right of existing partners to match the terms of a proposed sale and acquire the interest being sold, before it is offered to third parties.
Pre-Salt: Geological formations located beneath a layer of salt. Angola’s Kwanza Basin contains pre-salt carbonate reservoirs analogous to Brazil’s prolific pre-salt play.
Production Sharing Agreement (PSA): A contract between a government (through ANPG) and contractor companies that defines the terms for exploration and production, including how production is shared. See how a PSA works.
Profit Oil: The portion of production remaining after cost recovery, split between the contractor and the government (ANPG) according to agreed percentages.
PRODEL: Empresa Publica de Producao de Electricidade. Angola’s public electricity production company.
Prospective Resources: Potentially recoverable quantities of petroleum from undiscovered accumulations, estimated based on geological and geophysical data.
R
Reserve-Based Lending (RBL): A financing structure where the borrowing capacity is determined by the value of the borrower’s proved and probable reserves. See energy project finance in Angola.
Reserves (Proved/Probable/Possible): Estimated quantities of petroleum that can be commercially recovered. 1P = proved; 2P = proved plus probable; 3P = proved plus probable plus possible.
Reservoir: A subsurface rock formation containing hydrocarbons that can be extracted through wells.
Riser: A vertical or near-vertical pipeline connecting subsea equipment to a surface facility (FPSO or platform).
Royalty: A payment to the government based on the gross value or volume of production, assessed before cost recovery. Set at 15 percent under Decree 8/24.
S
Seismic Survey: A geophysical technique using acoustic waves to image subsurface rock formations. 2D seismic provides cross-sectional images; 3D seismic provides three-dimensional images.
Sonangol: Sociedade Nacional de Combustiveis de Angola. Angola’s national oil company.
Soyo: A city in northern Angola that hosts the Angola LNG plant and associated gas processing infrastructure.
Spud: To begin drilling a well.
Subsea: Equipment or operations located on the seafloor, including wellheads, manifolds, and flowlines.
Sulfur Content: The concentration of sulfur in crude oil, expressed as a weight percentage. Sweet crudes have low sulfur (below 0.5 percent); sour crudes have higher sulfur.
T-Z
TAN (Total Acid Number): A measure of the acidity of crude oil, affecting its corrosiveness to refinery equipment.
Tieback: Connection of a satellite subsea well or field to an existing production facility, avoiding the need for new standalone infrastructure.
Turret: A mooring system that allows an FPSO to rotate with wind and current while maintaining connection to subsea risers and flowlines.
Ultra-Deepwater: Water depths exceeding 2,000 meters (6,560 feet).
Umbilical: A bundled cable connecting surface facilities to subsea equipment, carrying hydraulic fluids, electrical power, and chemical injection lines.
VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier): A tanker capable of carrying approximately 2 million barrels of crude oil, commonly used for Angola-to-Asia crude shipments.
Water Injection: A secondary recovery technique where water is injected into a reservoir to maintain pressure and displace oil toward production wells.
Wellhead: The equipment installed at the surface (or subsea) opening of a well, providing a pressure seal and connection point for production equipment.
Work Program: A schedule of exploration and development activities that a licensee commits to undertake, as specified in the production sharing agreement.
For deeper exploration of specific topics referenced in this glossary, browse our full library of articles including our complete industry overview and our guide on the natural gas value chain in Angola.