"The country is very dependent on oil and multinationals and, in the future, if we do not strengthen Sonangol technically and financially, some discoveries (of oil reserves) will not produce", stressed José Oliveira in statements to Lusa, on the sidelines of the Luanda conference Oil & Gas and Renewable Energy, organized by Petroangola, which runs until Friday at the Talatona Convention Center, in Luanda.
"We're going to consume oil for another 20 or 30 years and we need to prepare for when companies don't want to develop certain discoveries because they don't yield great returns. Sonangol has to be prepared to take over and it's not just technically, it has to be financially prepared. ", underlined the researcher from the Catholic University of Angola.
For now, he acknowledges, the oil company is so weak financially that even its technical capacity cannot develop, "a crisis" that comes from previous years in which there was bad management and bad investments.
For José de Oliveira, the solution may be an adequate strategic partner in the privatization process, "who may not be satisfied" with 30 percent of the capital that will have to be sold, but which could help to strengthen internal capacity and conditions technological.
On the other hand, although Sonangol "is preparing to come out of the red", the energy specialists admit that it may be necessary for the State to financially strengthen the company so that it is able to assume its responsibilities, including in the gas sector, where it should also play a leading role.
"We already have LNG (liquefied natural gas) and we must continue, we will someday have to make fertilizers and we will have to make hydrogen and ammonia, it is not accepted that, as this is one of the fuels of the future, Angola does not produce it", he stressed.
As for the energy transition, José de Oliveira admits that Angola is not yet very concerned about defining this process because it is a country with renewable sources, especially the water matrix in the production of electricity, and is starting to invest in solar energy.
"For now, we need oil and gas revenues and that's where we have to make more efforts," he said.
José Oliveira: Sonangol has to strengthen itself technically and financially to develop production
One of the oil specialists at the Center for Scientific Studies and Research (CEIC) said that state oil company Sonangol should strengthen itself technically and financially to take on more responsibilities in future oil and gas production.
