The privatisation of Sonangol, through the process of dispersing 30 percent of its capital on the stock exchange, was initially scheduled for this year, but has since been postponed until 2026.
"There is a very important issue that has to do with subsidies [for fuels], this issue needs to be overcome" due to the impacts of the difference between the price at which fuels are imported and the cost at which they are sold, with significant losses for the company, Baltazar Miguel told Lusa.
"It is more difficult to have investors who invest in a company that has these issues to resolve", justified the executive director of Sonangol, in statements to Lusa on the sidelines of the event "Conversas Economia Sem Makas", which took place on Monday in Luanda.
Baltazar Miguel added that the company has been working with the executive on this matter, having reached an agreement to pay off around 4.5 billion dollars of debt with Sonangol.
Meanwhile, Sonangol has already privatized 49 companies in the group, spread across banking, real estate, logistics, telecommunications and other non-core areas.
As for the stake in the Portuguese Millennium BCP, it is to be maintained, "since the bank's valuation is much higher and dividends are starting to appear", the manager continued.
Regarding the results obtained last year, Baltazar Miguel considered that they are in line with forecasts, especially with regard to profits, taking into account the fall in the price of a barrel of oil by around 20 percent at the beginning of the year.
"A large part of our profits, over 60 percent, come from the sale of crude oil and that is how we made all the internal adjustments in terms of the cost structure, and others, to achieve positive results", he highlighted.
Sonangol closed 2023 with a positive net profit of around 1,356 million dollars.
The oil company states in the document that the reduction in the price of a barrel, combined with the geopolitical environment and the consequent change in market behavior, resulted in a reduction in Sonangol's consolidated turnover, although it considers that it maintained "a solid performance" with a turnover of 11.483 billion dollars and an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of 3.666 billion dollars.
Sonangol also expects positive results in 2024, said Baltazar Miguel, despite pressures associated with the fall in the price of a barrel: "Our working scenario is with the barrel at 65 dollars and if this level is maintained on the international market we will easily have positive results".
However, if prices fall, "substantial adjustments" will be necessary at the project level, "especially the investment portfolio and the organization's cost structure", he added.
But what worries him most is next year, he noted, pointing out international unpredictability, including a possible end to the war in Ukraine or the possible election of Donald Trump to the White House, who intends to increase oil production in the US, "which would have a very strong impact on the sustainability of barrel prices".
Internally, Sonangol is focused on diversification, particularly in gas projects, but also in oil.
"In the last five years, the average investment in the oil sector was 45 billion dollars and in the next five years it will be over 71 to 72 billion dollars", he said, recalling that Sonangol is a partner in all blocks in production in Angola and is the largest investor in the oil sector.
"We are doing a great deal of joint work at the level of marginal fields and with incremental production to (...) maintain production at one million barrels per day", he added.
