The Daily Journal. — Improving regulatory efficiency and separating the functions of the state-owned oil company from those of the regulatory agency played a decisive role in expanding investment in Angola’s hydrocarbon sector, according to Geraldine Geraldo, Commercial and Strategy Director at Corcel PLC.
During the panel “Attracting Upstream Investment in a Competitive World: Global Trends and Perspectives from International Hydrocarbon Regulators on the Venezuelan Challenge,” held as part of the Venezuela International Oil and Gas Summit (VIOGS 2026), Geraldo presented Angola’s experience as a reference for countries seeking to increase investment in exploration and production.
Geraldo, who has more than 17 years of experience in strategy, asset commercialization and energy sector reform, said Angola began transforming its institutional structure in 2019. Until then, a single entity had performed the functions of both the national oil company and the regulator.
She explained that the separation did not respond exclusively to the need to create better conditions for international companies, but rather to a broader goal of improving efficiency across the sector.
“International oil companies will operate in any environment where they can obtain economic returns on the capital they deploy,” she said, noting that separating the two functions does not necessarily precede attracting international companies.
She added that improving the industry’s operational efficiency served as the central rationale behind the reform.
Less bureaucracy before fiscal changes
Geraldo noted that, contrary to what many might expect, Angola’s oil industry did not initially identify changes to the fiscal regime as its main demand to the government.
“One would naturally think that these reforms would begin with adjustments to fiscal terms and similar issues, but the industry first demanded something that went beyond that: a change in bureaucracy and in the efficiency with which the legal framework operated in practice,” she explained.
In her view, investment-friendly regulations lose their effectiveness when slow or inefficient administrative processes hinder their implementation.
The reform included a review of the sector’s governance structure and separated the national oil company’s responsibilities from the regulator’s. According to Geraldo, these changes improved the system’s efficiency and made it easier for new operators to enter exploration and production activities.
“One of those key efficiencies (…) is having a better gateway into the exploration and production (upstream) sector,” she said.
Angola broadens its investor base
Geraldo said regulatory changes have helped Angola attract a broader range of companies, from small exploration and production firms and private equity funds to major international oil companies.
“It has attracted a wide variety of companies: from small firms and emerging exploration and production companies to private equity funds and new supermajors returning to the country,” she said.
One change involved making exploration opportunities more accessible. Angola’s regulator, the National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG), assumed a more specialized role and expanded the mechanisms for offering acreage to potential investors.
Geraldo also cited the incorporation of elements inspired by Brazil’s model, including permanent offer rounds and direct negotiations.
According to her presentation, improvements in procurement and contract management processes have also helped reduce obstacles for companies operating in the market.
However, she acknowledged that Angola’s system still faces efficiency challenges and that international companies continue to identify areas for improvement.
“There is always room for improvement,” she said.
For Geraldo, Angola’s experience shows that an oil-producing country’s competitiveness does not depend exclusively on the economic incentives it offers investors. Administrative efficiency, effective implementation of regulations and easier access to new exploration opportunities also influence a jurisdiction’s ability to attract capital.
“If we make contracting and the implementation of the regulatory framework more efficient, we can generate better returns both for ourselves and for the state,” she concluded.
