BP and Eni Expand Angola Footprint With Algaita-01 Oil Discovery

BP plc BP announced an oil discovery at the Algaita-01 exploration well situated offshore Angola through its joint venture Azule Energy.

Azule Energy is a joint venture between Eni S.p.A. E and BP plc, with each company owning 50%. Azule Energy and its partners, SSI Fifteen Limited and Sonangol E&P, operate Block 15/06, of which Azule Energy and Sonangol E&P own 36.84% each, and the remaining belongs to SSI Fifteen Limited.

Since the beginning of 2025, this is the fourth discovery of oil and gas by Azule Energy.The discovery was made at the Algaita-01 exploration well, where drilling began on Jan. 10, 2026. The well is located in Block 15/06, about 18 km offshore Lower Congo Basin. Earlier, Azule Energy found gas at the Gajajeira-01 well in Angola and made two more discoveries in Namibia’s Orange Basin, including Volans-1X and Capricornus-1X.

Discoveries like these support BP’s higher future oil production with stronger cash flow, thereby strengthening the upstream business model and enhancing investor appeal. Similarly, Eni’s business model is strengthened through this discovery.

The Algaita-01 well was drilled in 667 meters of water in the Lower Congo Basin using the Saipem 12000 drillship, encountering oil across multiple high-quality reservoir zones. With the presence of nearby production infrastructure, the discovery could be developed faster and at lower cost through a tie-up to existing facilities.

With West Texas Intermediate crude prices hovering below $65 per barrel, according to oilprice.com, the business environment of both BP and E’s upstream segment seems to be easing out. However, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts crude price to decrease further, implying that their upstream businesses will remain under pressure in the coming days.

Both BP and Eni are integrated energy players. BP and E each currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some other key players in the integrated oil and gas space are Chevron Corporation CVX and Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM. The business models of CVX and XOM are also exposed to crude price volatility. CVX and XOM carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each, at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The strength of Chevron’s upstream portfolio enabled the Houston-headquartered energy major to reach record production in the fourth quarter of 2025.

XOM operates as a fully integrated energy major spanning the entire value chain, from upstream production to refining and marketing. XOM achieved record 2025 net daily production of 4.7 million barrels of oil equivalent, marking its strongest output in over 40 years.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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