Speaking at the New Year's greetings ceremony, the government official stated that, last year, the construction of the TOBD continued "and other projects aimed at increasing fuel storage capacity on land, at national level".
"Phase 1 of the TOBD, with capacity to store 582 thousand cubic meters of liquid and gaseous fuels, should be completed this year", added the minister, during his speech – released by the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas and to which VerAngola had access.
The holder of the Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas portfolio also said that a "fundamental objective" of the sector is to "increase storage capacity and improve the entire fuel supply system".
Diamantino Azevedo said that there are still "many municipalities without fuel stations", opening "a window of opportunities for small, medium and large entrepreneurs to participate in this activity".
Among other aspects, the minister said that the sector he supervises will continue to "develop actions that aim to improve the distribution of fuels and lubricants throughout the national territory, through the construction and rehabilitation of fuel filling stations".
In terms of prospects for this year, Diamantino Azevedo indicated that, in the field of oil production, they will continue to develop "actions to boost and intensify the replenishment of reserves, mitigating the effects of the drop in production".
"We will continue to promote investments in exploration and production to maintain production levels above one million barrels per day," he added.
In his speech, he also mentioned that among the "main planned actions" are "continuing to implement the 2020-2025 Exploration Strategy and starting the elaboration of the post-2025 Exploration Strategy", the execution of the 2019-2025 Concession Allocation Strategy, as well as the preparation of Tenders for the Kassanje and Etosha Okavango Inland Basins, among others.
In the field of gas, Diamantino Azevedo said, among other aspects, that the sector will continue to "develop non-associated natural gas projects and, in particular, work to ensure the operationalization of the New Gas Consortium, which will aim to reduce the gas deficit supply of this product to Angola LNG and enable the implementation of other projects".
"We will also continue to implement the Refining Strategy, with the completion of the Cabinda Refinery and continue the actions inherent to the construction of the Soyo and Lobito refineries, to ensure the country's needs in refined products", said the minister.
