On the back of a new deal signed with the National Oil, Gas & Biofuels Agency (ANPG) at the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) 2025 Conference and Exhibition, ExxonMobil is gearing up to kickstart a new drilling campaign at Block 15. Speaking in an on-stage interview during AOG 2025 last week, Katrina Fisher, Country Manager of ExxonMobil Angola, said that the company plans to kick-off the next phase of drilling at the legacy asset.
“We are getting ready to kick off the next phase of drilling. We have just sent a drill ship to Block 15 so we are looking forward to unlocking more at Block 15,” she said.
The announcement comes as ExxonMobil recently extended the license for Block 15 to 2037, reaffirming its commitment to continued production at the block. Fisher explained that, “We just signed an extension for Block 15 until 2037. The success of this block was built on partnerships and fiscal flexibility. We have achieved more than 100,000 bpd and new discoveries. What the license extension does is help us continue this.”
Looking ahead, ExxonMobil strives to increase production in Angola even further through new exploration campaigns and incremental production. The company made a discovery at the Likember-01 well in 2024 – the first under Angola’s Incremental Production Initiative – underscoring the role reinvesting in mature assets can play in mitigating production decline. ExxonMobil is also leading frontier drilling in the Namibe basin.
“In 2024, we drilled the first frontier exploration well in the Namibe basin. It’s an area that we are still evaluating but we continue to look for more. We continue to maximize Block 15 but we will continue looking at frontier. We’re here for decades to come,” Fisher stated.
The company also signed a deal for the study and evaluation of the Free Areas of Blocks 17/06 and 32/21 in 2025. If the studies are successful, the company will sign concession contracts for the Free Areas. At Blocks 30, 44 and 45, the company is pursuing new discoveries, striving to enhance its portfolio of producing assets while supporting the country’s production goals.
Beyond oil and gas investments, the company continues to spearhead corporate social responsibility programs, facilitating knowledge transfer and capacity building. Fisher explained that “We have several projects such as the STEM Africa Challenge, which brings groups of youth together to compete. We also have strong mentors from our organization as well as Junior MBA, connecting sports and STEM.”