Africa Oil & Gas: Angola gets over 60 proposals for refineries construction

The commission created by the Angolan government to analyze the technical, economic and financial proposals for the construction of refineries in the country received 63 proposals from both national and foreign companies, state oil company Sonangol said on Thursday in Luanda.

The statement also said that the committee met on Wednesday at Sonangol’s headquarters in Luanda, with representatives of companies interested in investing in the oil refining sector, to present the procedures to be observed by interested parties.

The government’s decision that led to the launch of the tender for construction of refineries in Cabinda and Lobito took into account the fact that the country’s current refinery production, by the Luanda Refinery, covers just 20% of the market’s needs.

Angola imports 80% of the refined oil products its uses and the costs of this are unsustainable. Sonangol is building a refinery in Lobito to cover part of this deficit.

The completion of the projects will lead to the construction of a refinery in Lobito, by 2022, with a capacity to process up to 200,000 barrels of oil per day and another in Cabinda with an as yet unspecified capacity, that will be defined following studies.

Sonangol has signed a contract with Italian oil company ENI to optimise the Luanda refinery within 24 months, which will allow it to process oil in excess of its current nominal capacity of 65,000 barrels per day.

These projects are aimed at making Angola self-sufficient in the production of refined products, stopping the export of foreign currency by importing these products, adding value to Angolan crude oil, creating conditions for the development of the petrochemical industry, with potential to become an anchor for development from a wide range of national industrial activity.

Along with this, the new refineries will raise foreign exchange by exporting surpluses to regional markets and beyond, and promote local content in raw materials and the creation of employment.

The interested companies will be able to improve their proposals, according to the information and criteria that were presented by the commission, until 10 February, and should demonstrate proven technical and operational capacity, experience in the refining sector and financial capacity and suitability. (source: Macauhub)