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Afentra PLC Reaffirms Commitment to Dormant Field Development in Angola at Cape Town Energy Event
Upstream oil and gas company Afentra PLC has reaffirmed its commitment to reactivating dormant fields in Angola’s Kwanza basin, with plans to deploy modern recovery techniques to unlock remaining reserves.
During the Brownfield Development: Key to Stabilizing African Production panel session at African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energies 2025, Afentra PLC made its announcement following the initialing of a risk service contract in June 2025 for Block KON4. The block contains 11 oil and two gas fields, notably including Quenguela Norte – Angola’s largest onshore oil discovery.
“We’ve identified fields in Angola that have been suspended and we are looking at reactivating some of these fields, which happen to be onshore,” stated Paul McDade, CEO of Afentra.
Shut down and abandoned in 1999 after producing 42 million barrels, the field still holds a reserve of more than 200 million barrels of oil.
The panel session, featuring high-level oil and gas executives, explored strategies for Africa to maximize economic benefits through the repurposing of mature fields. The discussion highlighted the importance of leveraging innovation to enhance asset value, unlock new plays and support decarbonization.
“No matter how old the asset is, what has been developed is sure to be good quality,” stated Layi Fatona, Chairman of the Board, Renaissance Africa Energy Company, adding, “In that regard, all we need to develop brownfield assets is know-how and human capital.”
Meanwhile, Nigerian company Heirs Energies Ltd., highlighted the importance of data collection in enabling operators to optimize recovery, extend field life, reduce costs, and support safer, more sustainable operations.
“We see value in the collection of data in redeveloping and modernizing brownfield development. Incentives for producing and operating costs is also critical because unit operating costs become high,” stated Osayande Igiehon, Managing Director and CEO, Heirs Energies Ltd.
During the panel session, Arnel Simondin, CEO of independent hydrocarbon producer Perenco SA, emphasized that successful brownfield development begins with restoring asset integrity and modernizing facilities to optimize production.
“We start by getting the assets into shape, improving integrity and modernizing the asset to be able to optimize production,” Somondin stated.
For his part, Lanre Kalejaiye, CEO of energy company ND Western Ltd. added that seismic data must be considered alongside available infrastructure, ensuring mature assets can be efficiently linked to export markets.
“With seismic data, we have to look at what infrastructure is available,” said Kalejaiye, adding, “Are there opportunities to transport the assets towards export markets? These are the sorts of things we look at when considering investing in mature assets.”