Localising Angolan energy services

Angola

Janice Faria, CEO of Enagol, talks to The Energy Year about the current scope of the company’s involvement in Angola’s upstream sector, the contracts driving its growth and its ambitions to become an onshore block stakeholder. Enagol is a private equity company providing services in oil and gas and renewable energy projects.

What is the current scope of involvement of Enagol in Angola’s upstream sector?
At the moment, the company only has one direct contract, which is with TotalEnergies for NDT services. We guarantee the integrity of the FPSOs in Block 17 for four FPSOs, which gives the company prestige. We’re a local company working directly with the operator, whereas the norm is to work as a third party, or “third third party.”
Winning this NDT services tender in 2021 was a big step not only for Enagol but also for local content. Working with one of the big five gave us some visibility, meaning that if we succeed to comply with the demands of TotalEnergies, then we are eligible to work with anyone.
Apart from conventional NDT, Enagol also does advanced NDT, such as PAUT [phased array ultrasonic testing], pulsed eddy current, IRIS [internal rotating inspection system] ultrasonic testing with Ectane 2 and many others. Our main base of operations is in Luanda, but we additionally operate in Soyo, Cabinda, Lobito and Namibe. We are also establishing our operations in Namibia and plan to launch in 2024.
In the upstream sector, Enagol participated in the bidding for the onshore blocks in 2023 as investors, and now we are a part of blocks CON 8 and KON 19 partnering with Etu Energias and Acrep, two major Angolan operators.

What kind of contracts will be driving growth for Enagol in the coming years?
Everyone loves to work with operators directly. Our goal is to work with the big IOCs directly because they need to know us as a local, capable and quality organisation. Enagol, as a service provider, has the potential to flourish alongside construction businesses such as Petromar, Ponticelli, Friedlander and Sonamet due to their vast scope. Working with fabricators rather than operators can provide us with greater market knowledge in addition to a larger scope.
Our strategy for the next few years is to grow significantly and be at the front of the market by continuing to invest in our techniques and personnel while expanding our portfolio to reduce our reliance on a single large contract with one operator. There are other prospects in the area which are not restricted to NDT.

What are Enagol’s ambitions with respect to becoming an onshore block stakeholder?
I believe that becoming a block investor will benefit not only the company but also the country. We decided to enter the market as investors rather than operators given that we lacked knowledge in the field. Following this approach, we will learn how to operate and learn from mistakes. With this attitude and with time, we may be ready to invest and become operators. We can see that it is doable since we witnessed it with our partner Etu Energias, so why not Enagol?
We currently have the most lucrative block, Block 17, which has the highest daily oil production in the country and is operated by TotalEnergies; however, the firms investing in the companies there, with the exception of Sonangol, are not local.
I don’t know what the future holds, but maybe we’d also go offshore, like Prodoil.
We are a local company, and as Angolans we must fight for the development of our country, which is extremely rich in natural resources. That is why we are starting to explore onshore first, followed by offshore. Perhaps in the future, Enagol will be one of the country’s leading companies, not only in inspection but probably in operations too, similar to Etu Energias or Acrep.
As mentioned, throughout 2023 we participated in the bidding for the onshore blocks as investors and were successful for blocks CON 8, CON 7, KON 7 and KON 19. Unfortunately, the CON 7 and KON 7 blocks didn’t have offers for operators, leaving us as the only investors, so at this point we are focusing on the other two blocks.
In 20 years the contracts with the big IOCs will end, and it will be time for Angolan companies to start dominating and exploring the offshore blocks that still have some vitality, as well as make new discoveries. We already have an example of this with Block 04/5, which is entirely composed of local entities. This is the beginning of the local content dream.

How strategic is Enagol’s renewable energy division for the future of the company?
Right now, it is on standby. We assisted in the construction of a dam in Mozambique and worked on a solar-diesel hybrid system in the south of Angola. We developed the projects and subsequently delivered them to the client, the Ministry of Energy and Water.
I truly believe the future of our power sector will be driven by transmission lines, which the country currently lacks.
This is the opportunity! Currently, 75% of Angola’s electricity production comes from alternative sources, and for hydro alone, we have a surplus of electricity production of 700 MW. So, at this moment I don’t believe that we need any more production. There is a mismatch between power generation and transmission capacity in Angola. We still have people in the country who do not have access to electricity, not because it is not being produced but because it cannot be transmitted. This is where companies should start looking at.
In 2014 Enagol started its activity in alternative energy generation projects, with emphasis placed on the leadership of the consortium that developed the studies for the Borama and Lupata hydroelectric plants in the Republic of Mozambique, which aim to produce 780 MW.
In Angola we designed the engineering and implementation of electricity generation projects from 2016 to 2018. We have implemented three thermal power plants of 20 MW each and seven hybrid projects consisting of 13.5 MW of diesel and 9 MW of photovoltaic energy, whose service quality and terms of delivery were met with full satisfaction by the Ministry of Energy and Water and the beneficiary communities.

Where would you like to see Enagol five years from now?
I would like Enagol to be the leading local company in inspection services. Furthermore, I’d like to see how the company is contributing to the development of the country.
My team is local, and my funds come from Angola and stay in Angola. We have a social responsibility too, and we are engaging with universities to attract and train new talents. Along with a group of strong women in ASSEA [Association of Autochthonous Companies for the Oil Industry of Angola], we developed the UBUNTU programme with the aim to empower women in the industry, which are coming from the aforementioned universities.
Enagol is a 100% Angolan company, from its shareholding structure to its management and decision-making team. Currently our workforce is 35% expatriates, and our Angolanisation plan is, in the next five to seven years, to train and prepare our local technicians with the same competences and capabilities as the expatriates we have.
We work as a family, and we move forward with a high level of loyalty. I believe that the market knows how capable and strong we are. We like to see ourselves as a school, a place that trains strong and capable individuals, and this is why the team believes in the project and in the strategy of the company. This is why they prefer to stay in a place with career opportunities even though they have plenty of choices to leave.
Since we are entering into exploration, in five years I would be happy to see Enagol successful in the blocks we are currently investing in onshore, along with their Angolans partners. That would be the beginning of a new era.

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