Angolan independent Etu Energias is preparing for its next phase of upstream acquisitions and will build on the partnerships behind its recent deals, CFO Fernando Hermes said during a panel on Angola’s M&A boom at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 in Cape Town. Etu has agreed to acquire stakes in Block 14 and Block 14K from both Azule Energy and Chevron, with Chariot as a partner.

Hermes said that African financial institutions have room to play a much larger role. Local banks, he said, have provided less than 10% of the financing for Angola’s recent upstream deals. He called for development finance institutions such as the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) to help lower borrowing costs for local and regional companies through partnership frameworks that make both debt and equity more affordable. “We still need to find ways to have finance at a lower cost for local or regional companies like us,” he said.

Siji Adesemowo, Head of Energy Corporate Finance at South African investment bank RMB, said lenders show appetite across the capital stack once the basic requirements are met: credible partners, a stable fiscal framework and upside for investors. He expects funding costs to fall as the market matures, but cautioned that very cheap money tends to attract lower-quality transactions. Julian Maurice-Williams, CFO of Chariot, agreed that successful deals draw new entrants and capital, and said the resulting competition will push financing costs down.

Hermes said the collaborative approach of Angola’s previous licensing round, in which the National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG) worked with investors to build a shared understanding of subsurface opportunities, should carry into the agency’s upcoming round, which he expects to attract strong interest.