Cameia, Golfinho & Field Discoveries

Discovery Overview

The Kaminho project develops two key pre-salt discoveries — Cameia and Golfinho — from a total of seven made by Cobalt International Energy on Block 20/11 between 2012 and 2016. These discoveries proved the existence of a working petroleum system in the Kwanza Basin pre-salt, validating the geological thesis that Angola's offshore pre-salt is analogous to Brazil's prolific Santos Basin.

Cameia — The Breakthrough (2012)

The Cameia discovery in 2012 was the watershed moment for Angola's pre-salt play. Drilled by Cobalt International Energy, Cameia is a large 4-way dip closure in Aptian carbonate reservoir, located immediately below the base of the salt. The discovery confirmed that the pre-salt carbonate petroleum system — already proven spectacularly in Brazil — extended to the conjugate African margin. Cameia is an oil accumulation and forms the Phase 1 target of the Kaminho development, with the SLB OneSubsea subsea production system first connecting Cameia wells to the FPSO.

Golfinho — Extending the Play (2016)

Golfinho, discovered in 2016, lies on the southern part of Block 20/11, approximately 70 km south of Zalophus and along geological trend with Cameia, in about 1,700 meters of water. Early analysis indicated potential for another large carbonate mound with similar fluid and reservoir properties to Cameia. Golfinho forms the Phase 2 target of the Kaminho development. TotalEnergies' recent Grenadier-1 exploration well was drilled approximately 10 km from Golfinho, likely targeting a similar structure and potentially expanding the recoverable resource base.

Other Block 20/11 Discoveries

Cobalt's exploration campaign identified five additional accumulations across Blocks 20/11 and 21/09: Mavinga, Bicuar, Zalophus (gas-condensate, Sonangol estimated 813 MMboe, 313 MMbc, and 2.8 Tcfg in-place), Loengo, Mupa, and Orca. Several were appraised by major companies — BP participated in Golfinho appraisal, Repsol in Cameia appraisal, Chevron in Zalophus appraisal. At the time of Cobalt's 2014-2015 financial difficulties and the concurrent oil price crash, these discoveries were classified as sub-commercial. The successful Kaminho development could change the economics for some of these satellite accumulations.

Cobalt's total estimated resource base across Blocks 20 and 21 was 1.3 billion barrels gross. The future potential of the Kwanza Basin extends well beyond the current Kaminho development scope — see our dedicated page for exploration upside analysis. For production data and market context, see our dedicated pages.