Angola awards KON 9 onshore oil block to Vietnamese Xuan Thien Group as operator with an 80% stake

Several international investors are showing interest in this region. According to information disclosed by Angola's National Agency for Oil, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG) on April 1, Xuan Thien Group (XTG) won the bid for the KON 9 oil and gas block, one of the most promising zones in Angola's Kwanza Onshore basin. XTG (through its subsidiary XTP) won the operator role for KON 9 with an 80% stake. Partner Brite's Energy holds 20% as a non-operating partner. KON 9 is located in a favorable geological position. Experts say the area has high commercial potential due to its placement in the Kwanza sedimentary basin, where multiple significant oil discoveries have been recorded and large resources identified. KON 9 is not a standalone project but part of a broader wave of international attention to the onshore Kwanza basin in Angola. According to Energy Capital & Power, the region is drawing interest from companies such as ACE Energy, Walcot Group, and Prime Africa Trade through operating rights applications, production sharing contracts (PSCs), or equity acquisitions in various blocks within the same basin. This trend reflects a wider dynamic: the Kwanza basin remains underexplored because of Angola's historic offshore development focus, and is being reassessed in light of demand for new resource sources. Notably, the total oil in place for KON 9 is estimated to be around 800 million barrels. While this is an in-place resource estimate and not yet proven reserves, its scale, combined with the basin's history of oil discoveries, suggests strong potential. Moreover, being an onshore project reduces costs and enables faster development and easier infrastructure deployment compared with offshore projects. Angolan crude is predominantly light to medium sweet with low sulfur, a grade favored by markets and typically commanding premium prices due to its suitability for refining into high-quality gasoline and diesel. After winning the bid, XTG will fulfill financial obligations and data fees, sign petroleum contracts (PSC/RSC), and then conduct 2D seismic surveys, evaluate the geological structure, and prepare an exploitation plan. As the operator, XTG will oversee the entire lifecycle from exploration to development. This marks the first time a private Vietnamese company has taken on such a role in a major oil project in Africa, highlighting the firm's financial strength and world-class project management capabilities.