Africa Oil & Gas: Angola revises oil sector legislation

Angola’s Oil Ministry within 60 days will submit a proposal to revise the Oil Law to be drawn up by an ad hoc commission including representatives of Angolan oil company Sonangol, according to an official order.

The order, signed by the Oil minister, José Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, said that the commission has 60 days to present a preliminary draft proposal for both the Oil Law regulations on natural gas exploration.

The Oil Law dates back to November 2004 and regulates all activities, licensing, exploration and production of oil to the rights and duties of Sonangol, which is represented in this working group by Jorge de Abreu, the chief executive of the state company.

According to Portuguese news agency Lusa, the commission also includes officials from the Oil Ministry and chairman of Sonagás, Sonangol’s natural gas company.

The legislative review comes at a time when Sonangol is undergoing restructuring, with its performance affected by the drop in oil revenues and a debt of almost US$10 billion. (source: Macauhub)