ANGOLA · ENERGY
Key Facts
- —The country Angola is a southwest African oil producer of about 1 million barrels a day that left the OPEC oil cartel on 1 January 2024.
- —What happened Sonangol, the state oil company, chairman Sebastião Gaspar Martins called the Katambi-2 find a pure gas field on Saturday 17 October 2026.
- —The well Katambi-2 sits in Block 24 of the Benguela Basin, about 370 kilometres southwest of the capital Luanda.
- —The test The well flowed 41 million standard cubic feet of gas and 1,160 barrels of condensate a day, with no water and no hydrogen sulphide.
- —The potential A first assessment points to more than 100 million cubic feet of gas a day, according to the national oil agency ANPG.
- —The plan Martins said Angola will use the gas for its own needs first and may also send some abroad.
- —Still open Partners, reserves, a development plan and the date of any first gas are not public.
Angola’s state oil company Sonangol says the Angola gas well it drilled off Benguela holds a pure gas field that could be exported. Chairman Sebastião Gaspar Martins told the weekly Novo Jornal on Saturday 17 October 2026 that gas is gaining value worldwide.
For US readers, the Angola gas well matters because it could add a new supplier to a global gas trade that American exporters also serve. It sits off the same coast as the Lobito rail corridor, a route the United States has backed.
What Sonangol Said on 17 October
Sonangol put the Katambi-2 test results at the centre of an interview with the Angolan weekly Novo Jornal, published on Saturday 17 October 2026. Chairman Sebastião Gaspar Martins described the Angola gas well as a pure gas field, not a dry well.
He called the find a historic milestone for Angola’s oil sector, the paper reported. In his words, gas is now an important raw material in strong demand on the international market.
The Test Results From Katambi-2
The national oil agency ANPG and Sonangol’s exploration and production arm announced the results of the Katambi-2 well on Thursday 6 August 2026. ANPG, the Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás e Biocombustíveis, is the state body that grants and oversees Angola’s oil and gas blocks.
The Angola gas well produced a stable 41 million standard cubic feet of gas a day, plus 1,160 barrels of condensate. Condensate is a light oil that comes up with natural gas, and the test found no water and no hydrogen sulphide.
What 41 Million Cubic Feet Means
Forty-one million standard cubic feet a day equals about 1.16 million cubic metres of gas daily. Over a full year that comes to roughly 15 billion cubic feet, if the well kept that rate.
ANPG said an early assessment points to more than 100 million cubic feet a day, or about 2.8 million cubic metres. It called this Angola’s first full flow test of a non-associated gas reservoir, meaning gas found alone and not as a by-product of oil.
Why the Benguela Basin Matters
The well lies in Block 24 of the Benguela Basin, about 370 kilometres southwest of Luanda, and Sonangol’s exploration arm operates the block. Katambi-2 was drilled 1.3 kilometres from Katambi-1, an exploration well drilled in 2014 and 2015 by oil major BP.
The new well crossed two productive layers with about 331 metres of total thickness, ANPG said. Average porosity of 9% to 12% and better permeability than the first well point to a reservoir that lets gas flow.
Fishing Concerns Along the Coast
Fears for fish stocks along the Benguela coast have lingered since 2019, when Angola launched an international tender for offshore blocks, Novo Jornal wrote. Sonangol told the paper that oil and gas work is compatible with fishing.
The company rules out negative effects on the fishing industry, according to the paper. Fishing families along the coast have waited years for that assurance.
What It Means for US Readers
Angola left OPEC, the group of oil-exporting countries, on 1 January 2024, and gas exports would give it a second product beside crude. If the Angola gas well grows into a project, American service firms and lenders could bid for work.
The find lies off Benguela province, home to Lobito, the port of the US-backed rail corridor, as the Angola oil economy report shows. For now it is a test result and not a producing field, so it does not change world gas supply.
What Is Not Known
No partners, investment figure or development schedule have been made public for the Katambi discovery. The size of the recoverable reserves has also not been stated.
It is open whether the gas will go to power plants, to industry or to an export terminal. How a pipeline or plant would be built is also undecided.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What did Sonangol say about the Angola gas well?
Chairman Sebastião Gaspar Martins told Novo Jornal on 17 October 2026 that the Angola gas well is a pure gas field. He said Angola will use the gas for its own needs and may also export some.
How much gas did the Katambi-2 well produce in tests?
The Angola gas well flowed 41 million standard cubic feet a day, about 1.16 million cubic metres, plus 1,160 barrels of condensate. ANPG said an early assessment points to more than 100 million cubic feet a day.
Where is the Katambi-2 well?
It is in Block 24 of the Benguela Basin, offshore Angola about 370 kilometres southwest of Luanda. Sonangol’s exploration and production arm operates the block.
Is the gas field producing yet?
No. The figures come from a test announced on Thursday 6 August 2026, and no development plan has been published.
Why does the find matter to the United States?
A new Angola gas well could one day add supply to a global gas trade in which American exporters also compete. The Lobito rail corridor, backed by Washington, also reaches the Atlantic on the same coast.
Sources: Novo Jornal, SONANGOL já vê gás puro em Benguela, 17 October 2026; Lusa via Notícias ao Minuto, Katambi-2: Angola diz que há reservatórios de gás de boa qualidade, 6 August 2026; Forbes Africa Lusófona, Sonangol e ANPG confirmam existência de petróleo na bacia marítima de Benguela, 6 August 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief