Angola’s Oil Giant Faces a Reckoning Amid Debt and Divestment

The state-backed energy firm is currently hunting for an additional $4.8 billion to finance the $6.6-billion Lobito Refinery, a project critical to its long-term survival. Financial disclosures reveal a precarious reality: the company’s upstream exploration segment generated a mere $105 million in profit despite revenues exceeding $4.3 billion. Most of the company’s recent earnings, including its $940 million net profit for 2025, rely on dividends from external investments in entities like Galp Energia and the Angola LNG project rather than its own drilling activities.

Decades of government interference have left the company saddled with stakes in roughly 65 non-core businesses, ranging from aviation to medical clinics. These holdings have drained liquidity, contributing to a cash crunch where reserves cover only 18% of immediate needs. With national production sliding to 1.1 million barrels per day—down from a 2008 peak of 2 million—the firm is now aggressively shedding non-essential subsidiaries. Management aims to divest over 70 shareholdings to refocus on deep-water assets, a strategy designed to stabilize the balance sheet ahead of a planned 30% IPO on the Luanda Stock Exchange by 2027.