AEW 2026: Azule Commits $5.1bn to Angola's Greater PAJ Project

Azule Energy and its partners have committed $5.1 billion to the Greater PAJ project, Angola's first integrated cross-block oil development, as the Angolan producer joins African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 as a Bronze Partner to showcase one of the continent's fastest-growing upstream portfolios.

The final investment decision on Greater PAJ was taken in June 2026.

The Lower Congo Basin project will connect resources in Block 31 and Block 31/21 through a new floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, with first oil targeted for the first half of 2029 and an estimated 252 million barrels of oil resources expected to be unlocked.

Azule's participation at AEW 2026, running October 12-16 in Cape Town, gives investors, policymakers and industry partners a chance to engage with the project alongside the rest of the company's expanding pipeline.

Production already climbing at Agogo and Ndungu

The Greater PAJ commitment builds on a series of milestones Azule has already delivered.

In 2025, the company brought its flagship Agogo Integrated West Hub online in Block 15/06, with first oil from the Agogo FPSO in July, a project covering the Agogo and Ndungu fields that is expected to reach peak production of around 175,000 barrels per day across the Agogo and existing Ngoma FPSOs.

In February 2026, Azule announced the start-up of the Ndungu full-field development, a further step in the West Hub's expansion.

Formed in 2022 as a 50:50 joint venture between bp and Eni, Azule holds interests in 18 licensed blocks, with operations concentrated in Angola and a growing exploration presence in Namibia. Gas is also becoming a bigger part of its business: the company operates the New Gas Consortium, developing the Quiluma and Maboqueiro fields in what is Angola's first non-associated gas project, meaning gas produced independently of oil extraction rather than as a byproduct of it.

Production from the consortium began in March 2026, designed to supply gas to Angola LNG and strengthen the country's domestic gas and liquefied natural gas value chain.

Exploration success extends into Namibia

Exploration has added further upside to Azule's portfolio. In 2025, the company announced the Gajajeira-01 gas discovery in Block 1/14, with preliminary estimates pointing to more than 1 trillion cubic feet of gas in place and up to 100 million barrels of associated condensate.

Azule has also expanded beyond Angola, holding a 42.5% interest in Block 2914A, also known as PEL 85, in Namibia's Orange Basin, where further discoveries have strengthened its regional growth strategy.

NJ Ayuk, executive chairman of the African Energy Chamber, who organises AEW, said Azule demonstrates what Africa's energy sector needs more of: companies willing to commit capital to African resources, execute major projects and create lasting value across the continent.

According to Ayuk, Azule's work on Greater PAJ, alongside Agogo, Ndungu and the New Gas Consortium, shows Angola remains a compelling destination for long-term energy investment, while its growing Namibian presence points to the potential for building regional energy companies with African projects at their core.