The Angolan Executive approved the General Strategy for the Awarding of Petroleum Concessions for the 2019-2025 period by means of Presidential Decree No. 52/19, of 18 February 2019. This General Strategy aims at increasing the country’s oil and gas production and ensuring the replacement of reserves in order to overcome the recent production decline.

The awarding of the concessions will take place through different tendering procedures. The new statute sets forth and specifies various aspects of each of the tendering procedures (e.g. Sonangol’s minimum participating interest, ‘carry’), most notably the blocks to be awarded through each different procedure, as follows:

(i)    Public tender:

• In 2019, the following blocks will be awarded: 
o Blocks 11, 12, 13, 27, 28, 29, 41, 42 and 43 (Namibe Basin); and
o Block 10 (Benguela Basin).
• In 2020, the following blocks will be awarded:
o Blocks CON1, CON5 and CON6 (onshore Congo Basin); and
o Blocks KON5, KON6, KON8, KON9, KON17 and KON20 (onshore Cuanza Basin).
• In 2023, the following blocks will be awarded:
o Blocks CON2, CON3, CON7 and CON8 (onshore Congo Basin); and
o Blocks KON1, KON3, KON7, KON10, KON13, KON14, KON15 and KON19 (onshore Cuanza Basin).

(ii)    Limited public tender:

• In 2021, the following blocks will be awarded: 
o Blocks 7, 8, 9, 16, 33 and 34 (offshore); and
o Blocks 31 and 32 - free areas (offshore).
• In 2025, the following blocks will be awarded:
o Blocks 22, 24, 25, 26, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40.

(iii)    Direct negotiation:

• In 2019, the following blocks shall be awarded:
o Blocks 6, 30, 44, 45, 46 and 47.