In a statement, quoted by Angop, those responsible for the project also made it known that Sonaref's shareholder and partner in the project, Gemcorp, will inject more money into the project. The company will invest an additional 30 million dollars that will be used to create a pipeline and mooring buoys system, which aims to allow large ships to dock near the refinery to supply.
Besides the preliminary phase, the engineering study that was being developed and that integrates the construction plan and what will be built - such as the construction design of a distillation unit of 30 barrels of crude oil per day, the construction of storage tanks and the refinery support infrastructure, among others - has already been completed.
According to sources linked to the construction of the refinery, cited by Angop, the first phase of the work could start in August. Should this happen, this first phase should be reported as concluded during next year.
Initially, the refinery will be able to refine a total of 30 thousand barrels of oil per day. However, the second phase of the contract foresees increasing this capacity to double and still proceed with the process of reforming naphtha (an oil derivative).
In the third phase of the work, the Cabinda Refinery will be able to produce diesel, and it is estimated that by 2023 the refinery will be ready to supply gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel and naphtha to both the domestic and international markets.
Reginald Crawford of Gemcorp said the company is trying to meet all the deadlines. He also admitted that the Cabinda Refinery will help the national economy to grow, as fuel imports will be reduced.
So far, oil refining is the country's weakness, as Angola imports all the fuels it uses.
In addition to the decrease in imports, the refinery will also create new jobs, and it is expected that during its construction around 1600 jobs will be created. When fully built, the refinery is expected to create about 1,500 new jobs.
