The history of deepwater oil production in Angola only goes back ten years. The industry began in the early 1990s when the undrilled deepwater areas of the Lower Congo and Kwanza basins were offered as 17 blocks in water depths to 1,500 metres.
In 1993, a large round of licenses were awarded. Chevron was awarded block 14, ExxonMobil was awarded block 15, Total was awarded block 17 and BP was awarded block 18. These four blocks have collectively become known as Angola's "golden blocks" and have proved around t10 Bbbl of oil since first exploration drilling in 1994, a Wood Mackenzie profile on Angola showed.
Following the success achieved in the mid-1990s, there was stiff competition for the award of ultra deepwater licenses in 1999 or blocks 31, 32, 33 and 34. The average discovery proved to be less than the "golden blocks" but were nonetheless able to yield nearly 3 Bbbl of oil to date.
In 2005 and 2006, the licenses for the "golden blocks" which were awarded in 1993 expired new licenses for Angola's Lower Congo basin exploration acreage were awarded. The prices ranged from US$900 million to US$1.1 billion. The steep prices stunned the industry but emphasised the value of the production value and level of competition.
Today, Angola's deepwater oil production has surpassed that of the US Gulf of Mexico and Nigeria and is only second to Brazil in global deepwater oil rankings. Today, Angola produces 1.5MMb/d.