Afentra is on the verge of spudding its first well offshore Angola after securing access to a rig under contract to state oil company Sonangol, accelerating its planned 2026 drilling programme on Block 3/05.
The AIM-listed company has signed a commercial agreement with Sonangol to use the Borr Grid jackup rig, with the Pacassa SW exploration well expected to spud within days.
It marks a meaningful step change for Afentra as it pursues an organic growth strategy, after having been focused on acquiring mature African assets rather than drilling them.
“The ability to accelerate our drilling programme is a pivotal moment for Afentra, marking a clear transition to the execution phase of our organic growth strategy,” said Paul McDade, Chief Executive Officer of Afentra.
“This opportunity is a direct result of the strong, collaborative partnership we have with Sonangol and the Joint Venture. The funding structure agreed with Sonangol allows us to fast-track the unlocking of significant potential value from both the Pacassa SW area and the Impala field without impacting our 2026 cash capex. This programme is designed to efficiently convert resources into production, growing volumes through our existing infrastructure and delivering tangible value for our shareholders. Crucially, it will also provide invaluable data to de-risk and define future prospectivity across the wider Block 3/05 area, optimising our long-term development plan.”
The two-well programme targets a potential gross production uplift of around 9,000 barrels of oil per day. Pacassa SW is an undrilled fault block adjacent to the existing Pacassa field, with up to 210 million barrels of oil in place and recoverable resources estimated at up to 70 million barrels. The second well will either be a Pacassa SW injection well or the Impala-2 development well, depending on how the first comes in.