In a statement, the National Fuel Society of Angola (Sonangol) said that the two companies were the winners of the tender for the import of refined oil products launched by the state oil company last March.
According to the document, 27 companies were invited to participate in the tender, including the current suppliers, "as a guarantee of competitiveness under equal circumstances".
During the process, nine proposals were received from companies BP, Trafigura, Vitol, Gunvor, Idemitsu, Mercuria, Totsa, Galp and Gemcorp and among the offers "the best proposals were selected for the supply of each of the products and the others were excluded" .
The country is an oil producer, but the refining sector has only one refinery, with a capacity of up to 65,000 barrels of oil per day, which cover only 20 percent of oil product consumption.
The remainder is imported, which implies a large expenditure of foreign exchange, said the Minister of Mineral Resources and Petroleum, Diamantino de Azevedo, in February this year, adding that in 2019 the country spent 1.7 billion dollars on importing fuels.
In the first quarter of this year, the country has already disbursed more than 250 million euros to import fuel, representing 66 percent of the quantities purchased and sold in that period. To overcome this challenge, the Government launched projects for the construction of new refineries, namely those of Cabinda, Soyo and Lobito, in the provinces of Cabinda, Zaire and Benguela, processes that are underway.
