News

Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (SNPC) will participate at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026, taking place October 12–16 in Cape Town, as a Gold Partner. SNPC’s participation reinforces AEW’s position as a leading platform for connecting national oil companies with global investors, technology providers and strategic partners.

For Congo, the event provides an opportunity to showcase emerging opportunities across energy value chain amidst a national target to double hydrocarbon production capacity to 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) by 2030.

SNPC is at the center of this expansion, with interests across 18 exploration permits and 37 production permits, underscoring the company’s commitment to increasing production while creating new opportunities for international capital and technical expertise.

A key milestone in Congo’s growth strategy came in April 2026, when SNPC, TotalEnergies, and Trident Energy discovered hydrocarbons at the Moho permit’s MHNM-6 NFW exploration well. Developing the discovery as a subsea tie-back to current Moho infrastructure—already producing around 90,000 boe/d—allows Congo to monetize these resources efficiently without constructing a new production hub, accelerating progress toward its 500,000 bpd goal.

SNPC is also advancing exploration at the Nzombo permit in partnership with TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy, while working with international companies including Ammat Global Resources, Wing Wah and Eni to maximize brownfield opportunities and unlock new greenfield resources.

Alongside oil production, SNPC is playing a central role in Congo’s drive to monetize its natural gas resources. The company is supporting implementation of the country’s Gas Code and Gas Master Plan, which prioritize reducing gas flaring, expanding gas utilization and developing gas-to-power capacity, with a target of reaching 1,500 MW by 2030.

A key milestone is the expansion of Congo LNG Phase 2 with Eni, which has increased the project’s planned output capacity to three million tons per annum. The development forms part of Congo’s broader strategy to transform gas from an underutilized resource into a source of export revenues, domestic electricity and industrial growth.

AEW 2026 will therefore provide an important platform for SNPC to engage global investors on opportunities across the gas value chain, from upstream gas development and LNG to gas-to-power and related infrastructure.

In addition to its participating interests in production permits alongside international partners, the SNPC Group operates five permits directly. The company is spearheading close to $3 billion in projects focused on its Nanga I, Kouakouala and Le Mayombe II permits. These initiatives include the acquisition of magnetometric and aerogravimetric data, as well as drilling equipment and studies aimed at developing natural gas, hydrogen and helium resources.

SNPC is also raising capital to support domestic exploration and production. Its $158 million bond issuance is designed to finance local drilling campaigns, expand onshore operations and strengthen national oil and gas production, highlighting the company’s growing role in directly shaping Congo’s upstream development.

SNPC’s ambitions extend across the downstream sector, where the company is progressing the proposed Pointe-Noire–Maloukou–Oyo–Ouesso pipeline while managing petroleum transportation, storage, refining and marketing infrastructure through subsidiaries including SNPC Distribution, SNAT and SOCOGAZ.

“SNPC is positioning itself beyond the traditional national oil company model. The company is becoming an operator in its own right, raising capital to fund exploration and expansion while continuing to fulfil the responsibilities of a traditional national oil company. Congo’s 500,000 boepd target is under strong leadership, and AEW 2026 provides an ideal platform for global investors to access emerging investment opportunities across the country’s oil and gas sector,” stated NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.