Prospecting and producing natural gas in the country will be differentiated from oil, on the initiative of the Government, which intends to establish a regime more favorable tax regime to increase private investment in this sector.
At stake is a legislative decree proposed by the President of Republic, João Lourenço, and unanimously approved by the deputies, on Thursday.
The diploma aims to create a "basic legal and tax regime" that "frames and promotes the exploration of natural gas", in the offshore and in the onshore. p>
It also aims to ensure “the necessary flexibility and adaptability that allows the economic viability of future projects", reads the text of the draft law on Legislative Authorization on the Regime Legal and Fiscal to be Attributed to the Exploration of Natural Gas, approved by the parliament, authorizing the President to legislate on the matter.
"Considering that our gas industry is still dormant, we have come to the conclusion that we need to develop a tax regime that is competitive for the emergence of this industry in Angola", previously defended the Minister of Mineral Resources and Petroleum, Diamantino Pedro Azevedo.
The diploma results from a comparative study with other countries Africans from the same region, such as Mozambique, and applies to societies oil investors operating in the country or with agreements international agreements with Angola.
Among other aspects, it defines that the concession diplomas and respective contracts may allow an area where it has been identified one or more natural gas fields is retained for an additional period, not exceeding five years, after the expiry of the deadline for declaration of commercial discovery, if it has the potential to be considered "commercially viable".
Establishes that oil companies that produce associated gas are not subject to the Petroleum Transaction Tax, while the rate of the Petroleum Income Tax (IRP) is 25 percent.
The IRP paid for oil production is calculated at 65.75 per percent on profits from older concession areas, dropping to 50 percent in newer areas.
Associated gas is natural gas that exists in solution with petroleum crude, including what is commonly known as blanket gas, which copper and is in contact with crude oil.
"The gas industry is useful for various economic sectors, such as energy generation, fertilizer production and petrochemicals", Minister Diamantino Pedro Azevedo also explained.
The most recent data, made available by the concessionaire oil company Sonangol, point to oil reserves in Angola valued at between 3.5 billion barrels (proven category) and 10.8 billion billion barrels (probable category).
Gas discoveries in 2015 amounted to 9.492 billion feet cubic meters, an increase of 268 percent compared to prospecting results in the previous year.
