"The main variable in fuel smuggling is the price between us and our neighbouring countries. It is a major motivation for smuggling. That is the main variable. If we eliminate that variable, what will smuggling be for?" said Diamantino Azevedo, speaking this Wednesday in Luanda at the opening of a training seminar on the language of the hydrocarbons sector aimed at journalists.
For the minister, if the price charged in Angola is the same or similar to that charged in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country that shares an extensive land and river border with Angola, the "business [of smuggling] will no longer be profitable".
"[But] it is not that easy. We made the first attempt [with the last removal of fuel subsidies], but this is the solution, in the short, medium or long term. We must have at least an average price, like in the region", he argued at the meeting organised by his ministry in partnership with the Association of Economic Journalists of Angola.
The problem of fuel smuggling in Angola led to the drafting of a specific legal instrument and the recent creation of a multi-sectoral commission, headed by the Minister of State and Chief of the Military Household of the President of the Republic, following a visit by the President, João Lourenço, to the province of Zaire, a country bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the governor presented the "drama" of smuggling.
The authorities have identified members of the security forces, businesspeople and former government officials as being allegedly involved in fuel smuggling, which, according to the Government, has caused "enormous damage" to the country's socio-economic fabric.
Diamantino Azevedo, who contextualized the goals and challenges of the sector he leads, especially during President João Lourenço's term, highlighted the reforms that began with the creation of the National Agency for Oil, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG) – national concessionaire – and the Regulatory Institute for Petroleum Derivatives (IRDP).
The ANPG regulates prospecting and the IRDP regulates the refining and distribution segment.
"This was a fundamental change that many did not want, many, including us Angolans, fought [the creation of these institutions]", he stressed, considering that "the greatest corruption phenomena [in Angola] come from oil".
"And it also comes, in part, from the system we had for governing oil", he noted.
In his one and a half hour speech, the minister also signaled that the country, with a daily production of one million barrels of oil, is experiencing declines due to the exhaustion of reserves and a lack of investment.
He assured that the bidding strategy for exploration of oil blocks, the modernization of the sector, the legislation approved and the institutions created over the last seven years should help combat the current decline.
The minister also challenged the state-owned Sonangol to increase its national share in oil production, noting that it only operates 2 percent of all oil produced in Angola and is challenged to increase this to 10 percent.
"We challenge Sonangol because 2 percent is irrelevant (...). We must have more Angolan companies in the oil sector", concluded Diamantino Azevedo.
