Azule Energy advances Angola’s first non-associated gas project with platforms completion

Azule Energy and partners have progressed Angola's first non-associated gas development with the completion, load out, and sail away of the Quiluma and Maboqueiro (Q&M) offshore platforms less than 3 years from the New Gas Consortium (NGC)’s final investment decision (OGJ Online, July 27, 2022).

The Quiluma platform was loaded and sailed away from the Ambriz Petromar Yard Feb. 11. The Maboqueiro platform sailed away in December 2024, the same month that requisite commercial deals for the project were signed.

The NGC project is a joint venture of Azule Energy, Sonangol E&P, Chevron, and TotalEnergies expected to contribute to Angola’s broader goal of increasing the share of natural gas in the energy matrix to 25%.

"While Angola has been producing and exporting LNG for several years, most of the gas has been derived from associated gas projects, thereby monetizing previously flared resources at offshore oil projects,” according to a Feb. 13 release from the African Energy Chamber (AEC).

“However, to further boost LNG capacity, the country is looking at non-associated gas opportunities, with the Q&M project leading the way in this endeavor. The project highlights both the commercial potential available in developing non-associated gas as well as the level of opportunity in this regard. Angola, for its part, has over 11 tcf of proven gas resources and is inviting greater investment in exploration to unlock these resources,” AEC continued. 

The non-associated gas of NGC Phase 1 will come from Quiluma and Maboqueiro shallow water fields with additional potential related to gas from Blocks 2, 3 and 15/14 areas. An onshore plant will process gas from the fields and connect to the Angola LNG plant, aimed at a reliable feedstock supply to the plant, sited near Soyo in the Zaire province in north Angola.

First gas is targeted in late-2025 or early-2026. The project is expected to produce more than 300 MMscfd at plateau (about 4 bcf/year). 

Azule Energy, as the operator of the NGC, together with Azule Ltd, hold a 37.4% interest in the consortium. The remaining partners are Cabinda Gulf Oil Co. Ltd. (CABGOC), a subsidiary of Chevron (31%), Sonangol E&P (19.8%), and TotalEnergies (11.8%).