Digital Energy Journal- Metatek completes airborne survey of Kwanza Basin, Angola

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Metatek completes airborne survey of Kwanza Basin, Angola

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Landmark aerial survey for onshore exploration in Angola completed

United Kingdom-based geophysical company Metatek-Group Ltd. ('Metatek') has completed an airborne survey of the Kwanza Basin in Angola to support onshore oil and gas exploration in the region.

It is the first time the basin has been surveyed with modern technology, offering new insights into the subsurface and the precise locations that hold the most potential for future drilling programmes.

Conducted in partnership with Angolan-based upstream consultancy Striped Horse and the Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás e Biocombustíveis (ANPG), the survey captures the full Kwanza Basin, with over 36,000 kilometres flown. It comprises enhanced Full Tensor Gravity Gradiometry (eFTG), scalar gravity, magnetic and LiDAR data.

eFTG is the world's most advanced and highest-resolution airborne gravity gradiometry technology, providing geological insight and accuracy from near-surface through to deep basement.

The gravity and magnetic data captured enables enhanced imaging of the Basin's architecture, including fault and transfer zone geometries and regional structural domains, alongside more detailed analysis of sediment thickness and the distribution of salt, carbonate and volcanic bodies.

The LiDAR data provides high-resolution terrain models to support surface access planning, geomorphological interpretation and environmental baselining.

Selected priority areas were flown at higher resolution and can support with detecting critical minerals in addition to hydrocarbon resources. It comes as Angolan state-owned oil company Sonangol last week announced an ambition to diversify into critical minerals.

The complete dataset - together with optional interpretation products including block viability ranking - will be available for licensing from Q2 2026 under a multi-client model.

Dr. Mark Davies, CEO of Metatek, comments:

'This survey represents a step-change in regional and prospect-scale subsurface understanding of the onshore Kwanza Basin. The integration of eFTG, gravity, magnetics and LiDAR deliver a robust, basin-wide framework enabling more informed exploration and de-risking seismic planning and acreage decisions.'

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