ANPG: Angola's National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency Explained

ANPG: The Architect of Angola’s Upstream Future

The Agencia Nacional de Petroleo, Gas e Biocombustiveis (ANPG) is Angola’s national petroleum regulatory agency, serving as both the industry regulator and the national concessionaire for all upstream oil and gas activities. Established by Presidential Decree 49/19 in February 2019, ANPG assumed the concessionaire role previously held by Sonangol, the state oil company, as part of a comprehensive institutional reform designed to separate regulatory functions from commercial activities in Angola’s petroleum sector.

The creation of ANPG was one of the most significant institutional reforms in Angola’s petroleum history, comparable to the creation of Colombia’s ANH (Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos) in 2003 or Nigeria’s establishment of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) under the 2021 Petroleum Industry Act. By removing the concessionaire function from Sonangol—which had held this role since the original Petroleum Activities Law of 1978—the reform eliminated the inherent conflict of interest that arose from the state oil company simultaneously acting as regulator and commercial participant.

This article provides a comprehensive profile of ANPG, covering its legal mandate, organisational structure, licensing authority, regulatory functions, and strategic role in shaping Angola’s upstream petroleum future.

Legal Mandate and Institutional Framework

Governing Legislation

ANPG’s mandate is established through:

• Presidential Decree 49/19 (February 2019): The founding statute that established ANPG, defined its mandate, and transferred the concessionaire function from Sonangol.
• Petroleum Activities Law (Law 10/04, as amended): The primary legislation governing petroleum exploration and production in Angola, under which ANPG exercises its concessionaire and regulatory functions.
• Presidential Decree 52/19: Establishes the procedures for licensing round conduct, bid evaluation, and contract award.
• Decree 8/24: The incremental production decree that defines fiscal terms for new and incremental production, administered by ANPG.

Dual Role: Concessionaire and Regulator

ANPG performs two distinct functions that in some jurisdictions are handled by separate entities:

National Concessionaire: ANPG holds, on behalf of the Angolan state, the exclusive right to explore for and produce petroleum resources. This right is exercised through production sharing agreements (PSAs) between ANPG and contractor groups (international and domestic oil companies). ANPG’s concessionaire role includes:

• Designing and conducting licensing rounds
• Negotiating PSA terms with preferred bidders
• Approving development plans, well programmes, and field modifications
• Monitoring production and reserves
• Managing the state’s share of profit oil and royalties
• Approving transfers and assignments of PSA interests

Industry Regulator: ANPG regulates the upstream petroleum industry, including:

• Setting technical standards for exploration, drilling, and production operations
• Approving Environmental Impact Assessments for petroleum activities (in coordination with the Ministry of Environment)
• Enforcing health, safety, and environment (HSE) standards
• Monitoring compliance with local content requirements under Decree 271/20
• Publishing industry data and statistics

Relationship with Other Institutions

ANPG operates within a broader institutional ecosystem:

• MIREMPET (Ministry of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas): Provides strategic policy direction and issues primary legislation. ANPG reports to the minister through its board.
• Sonangol: Following the institutional reform, Sonangol operates as a commercial entity (state oil company) with equity participation in selected PSAs. The relationship between ANPG (as regulator/concessionaire) and Sonangol (as commercial participant) requires careful management to avoid conflicts.
• Ministry of Finance: Receives petroleum tax revenues collected by AGT and manages the state’s share of profit oil channelled through ANPG.
• Banco Nacional de Angola: Regulates foreign exchange aspects of petroleum transactions.
• Ministry of Environment: Coordinates with ANPG on environmental permitting for petroleum operations.

Organisational Structure

Leadership

ANPG is led by a Board of Directors (Conselho de Administracao) appointed by the President of the Republic. The board comprises a Chairman (Presidente) and typically four to six directors responsible for specific functional areas.

Paulino Jeronimo has served as Chairman of ANPG since its inception in 2019, providing continuity of leadership during the critical transition from Sonangol’s concessionaire role. Jeronimo, a petroleum engineer by training with decades of experience in Angola’s upstream sector, has been the public face of ANPG’s licensing programme and regulatory reform agenda.

Functional Divisions

ANPG’s organisational structure includes the following principal divisions:

• Exploration and Licensing Division: Manages the licensing programme, including block packaging, data room management, bid evaluation, and PSA negotiation.
• Production and Development Division: Monitors ongoing production operations, approves development plans and modifications, and tracks reserves and production forecasts.
• Local Content Division: Reviews and approves local content plans, monitors compliance with Decree 271/20, and conducts audits.
• Regulatory and Compliance Division: Enforces HSE standards, monitors environmental compliance, and manages the regulatory reporting framework.
• Data and Technology Division: Manages ANPG’s geological and geophysical database, including seismic data, well logs, and production records. This division is responsible for making data available to companies during licensing rounds.
• Legal Division: Manages PSA negotiations, contract administration, dispute resolution, and regulatory legal framework development.
• Finance and Administration Division: Manages ANPG’s budget, human resources, and administrative operations.

Staffing and Capacity

ANPG employs approximately 300 to 500 staff, including geoscientists, petroleum engineers, legal professionals, economists, and administrative personnel. The agency has actively recruited experienced petroleum professionals from Sonangol and from international industry, though capacity constraints remain in specialised areas such as reservoir engineering, fiscal analysis, and environmental regulation.

Licensing Authority and Process

Licensing Programme Design

ANPG designs the licensing programme based on geological assessment, industry consultation, and government policy direction. The agency determines which blocks to offer in each round, the minimum bid terms, and the bid evaluation criteria. Since 2019, ANPG has offered over 50 blocks across the Lower Congo, Kwanza, Namibe, and onshore basins.

Bid Evaluation

ANPG evaluates bids on a weighted scoring system that considers:

1. Work programme commitment (50-60%): The value and scope of exploration activities the bidder commits to undertake, including seismic acquisition (km2), exploration wells (number and depth), and minimum financial expenditure.

2. Signature bonus (20-30%): The upfront cash payment offered by the bidder. Higher bonuses indicate greater confidence in the block’s prospectivity and greater financial commitment.

3. Local content plan (10-20%): The quality and ambition of the bidder’s plan for Angolan participation in procurement, employment, and skills development.

Contract Negotiation

After bid evaluation and selection of the preferred bidder, ANPG enters PSA negotiations. The model PSA provides the starting template, with key commercial terms—profit oil split, cost recovery ceiling, training levy, and specific work programme milestones—subject to negotiation. The production sharing agreement investor guide provides detailed analysis of PSA terms.

Notable Licensing Outcomes

Key licensing outcomes under ANPG’s stewardship include:

• Shell’s 17-block MoU (October 2025): The largest single licensing commitment since ANPG’s establishment, with approximately USD 1 billion in committed exploration expenditure across deepwater and ultra-deepwater blocks.
• Azule Energy awards: Multiple block awards to the BP-Eni joint venture, including exploration acreage adjacent to its existing producing assets.
• Oando onshore awards: Oando’s Block KON-17 award in the onshore Kwanza Basin, demonstrating ANPG’s commitment to engaging domestic and African companies.
• Petronas Kwanza Basin: Petronas and TotalEnergies partnership in the deepwater Kwanza Basin, following the Kaminho basin-opening discovery.

Regulatory Performance and Industry Assessment

Strengths

Industry participants generally credit ANPG with:

• Transparent licensing process: The systematic six-year licensing programme, with published timelines and clear bid evaluation criteria, represents a significant improvement over the ad hoc allocation process that characterised the Sonangol concessionaire era.
• Data accessibility: ANPG has invested in digitising and making available geological and geophysical data to prospective bidders, reducing information asymmetry.
• Technical competence: The agency has recruited and retained petroleum professionals capable of meaningful technical dialogue with international operators.

Areas for Improvement

Industry feedback identifies several areas where ANPG could strengthen its performance:

• Processing speed: Approval timelines for development plan amendments, well programme modifications, and PSA interest transfers remain longer than industry expectations, with some approvals taking 6 to 12 months.
• Regulatory clarity: Some regulatory areas—particularly decommissioning obligations, gas fiscal terms, and CCS regulation—lack clear guidelines, creating uncertainty for investors.
• Capacity constraints: Specialised regulatory functions such as reservoir surveillance, environmental monitoring, and fiscal auditing require additional staffing and training.
• Digital transformation: The agency’s IT systems and data management capabilities, while improved, still lag behind regulators in Norway (NPD), the UK (NSTA), and Brazil (ANP) in terms of online filing, data analytics, and public data access.

ANPG’s Strategic Role in Production Stabilisation

ANPG sits at the centre of Angola’s strategy to stabilise and potentially grow oil production from the current level of approximately 1.1 million bpd. The agency’s actions directly influence the pace and scale of new investment through:

• Licensing round design: Offering the right blocks with the right data at the right fiscal terms to attract competitive bids.
• Fiscal calibration: Working with MIREMPET to design fiscal terms—such as Decree 8/24—that balance government revenue with investor returns.
• Approval efficiency: Processing development plan approvals and well permits quickly enough to maintain investment momentum.
• Industry engagement: Maintaining constructive relationships with the international and domestic companies that provide the capital and technology for exploration and production.

The agency’s ability to execute these functions effectively will be a primary determinant of whether Angola achieves its production stabilisation objectives and successfully conducts the 2025-2026 licensing rounds.

Comparison with Peer Regulators

Conclusion

ANPG has established itself as a credible and increasingly effective petroleum regulator in its first seven years of operation. The separation of the concessionaire function from Sonangol was a necessary structural reform that has improved transparency, reduced conflicts of interest, and provided a dedicated institutional focus on upstream licensing and regulation. The agency’s success in attracting Shell’s return to Angola, maintaining TotalEnergies’ and Chevron’s commitment, and engaging new entrants demonstrates its effectiveness. However, continued investment in staff capacity, regulatory framework development, and digital transformation will be essential for ANPG to fulfil its central role in Angola’s production stabilisation strategy and energy transition.