BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg has visited Angola for the first time, describing the country as “one of the bright jewels in the BP crown”.

During a four-day trip, he held a town hall in Luanda attended by more than 250 staff, where he pledged BP’s commitment to the country and to young people looking to work in the industry.

He said: “BP is fully committed to its future in Angola. In the decades to come, we intend to play our part not just in producing oil, but in fully engaging with the wider community.  As the business grows in the decades ahead, it will provide opportunities for employment and training for Angolans in the leading technologies of our exciting industry.”

During the visit Svanberg toured the advanced collaborative environment room at BP’s Torres Atlantico office, to see for himself how BP’s state-of-the-art technologies are deployed to find and produce hydrocarbons in water depths as great as 1500 meters in Greater Plutonio and greater than 2400 meters when PSVM comes on stream.

Svanberg said: “It’s so good to see the passion and commitment of the team responsible for ensuring the safe development of these important resources for Angola.”

He said: “This is a trip I have been waiting to make for some time. The Angola Region is one of the bright jewels in the BP crown, so I was keen to see first-hand our ground-breaking operations being played out in offshore exploration and production, and to meet the team.”