Production Capacity & Reservoir Data

Production Profile

The Kaminho project targets a plateau production rate of 70,000 barrels of oil per day from the Cameia and Golfinho pre-salt fields in Block 20/11. Production start-up is scheduled for 2028 from the all-electric FPSO Kaminho, with the Cameia field produced first (Phase 1) and Golfinho following (Phase 2).

The project's breakeven below $30 per barrel ensures commercial viability across a wide range of oil price scenarios. At $70-80/bbl (typical for Brent crude), the project generates substantial returns for the consortium: TotalEnergies (40%), Petronas (40%), and Sonangol (20%). The 70,000 bpd contribution is significant for Angola's national production — representing approximately 6-7% of current total output and helping offset natural field decline of ~10% per year from mature assets.

Reservoir Characteristics

The target reservoirs are Aptian carbonate formations located below the salt layer in the pre-salt section of the Kwanza Basin. These carbonates formed over basement highs, creating a "string of pearls" fairway along structural ridges — a geological setting directly analogous to the pre-salt carbonates that produce billions of barrels in Brazil's Santos Basin. The reservoir quality and hydrocarbon phase vary across the fairway, with the Cameia and Golfinho accumulations representing the commercially optimal targets identified by Cobalt's 2012-2016 exploration campaign.

Cobalt International Energy, which drilled 8 wells making 7 discoveries (88% success rate), estimated 1.3 billion barrels of gross resources across Blocks 20 and 21. Sonangol's estimates for the broader block area indicated in-place resources of 813 MMboe, 313 MMbc, and 2.8 Tcfg for some of the individual accumulations. The Kaminho development focuses on the most commercially attractive portion of this resource base.

Two-Phase Development

The SLB OneSubsea 13-well subsea production system is designed for phased development: Phase 1 targets the Cameia field (the first and largest discovery, made in 2012, a large 4-way dip closure in Aptian carbonate), and Phase 2 targets the Golfinho field (discovered 2016, approximately 70 km south of Zalophus, similar fluid and reservoir properties to Cameia). This phased approach manages capital deployment and allows optimization based on Phase 1 production performance.

For Angola's broader production landscape, see our Market Data and FPSO Fleet pages. For the full exploration history, see Discoveries.