Adriano Mendes de Carvalho was addressing the Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, at the ceremony launching the first stone of the new gas consortium, which took place in the oil city of Soyo, north of Luanda.
Highlighting the importance of the gas sector for national and foreign companies and for job creation, the governor asked Diamantino Azevedo to put pressure on those responsible for the fertilizer (ammonia) factory and evaluate the problem of building the oil refinery, "in the sense to be able to start immediately", to create jobs.
"I know you can solve it and you always have," he said to the head of the Oil and Gas portfolio.
On the other hand, he urged actors in the oil sector, including the multinationals Azule Energy, Total, Chevron, present at the symbolic event, to help train staff and pay special attention to recent graduates, guaranteeing them internships.
Diamantino Azevedo responded to the governor asking for patience and highlighting that these projects have time to mature.
"We listened carefully to the governor of Zaire and we have always updated the status of the projects. There is no delay, it is normal in the extractive industry, projects have a certain maturity period", involving studies, demining and compensation for populations, he declared to journalists, reinforcing that the projects "are following their own phases".
"Everything is going as planned", he assured, adding that the governor's concern "is legitimate" and "nothing unusual", as "there is perfect alignment between the provincial government" and the guardianship of mineral resources, Oil and Gas.
He also noted that private or public-private projects are at stake, not state ones, stressing that the engine of the economy must be the private sector.
In his intervention, Diamantino Azevedo also addressed the steps that the executive has taken to attract more investment to the country and respond to national and international demand for natural gas, "an important product that allows a wide range of opportunities in terms of its transformation and promotion of local industries", also being an important resource for the energy transition.
Regarding the new gas consortium project, an investment of 2.2 billion dollars, whose first production is expected in July 2026, he highlighted that it will, in the first phase, develop the Quilumba and Maboqueiro non-associated gas fields, to supply gas to the Angola LNG factory and other industries in Soyo.
In a second phase, the development and exploration of other non-associated natural gas fields from the same concession follows, "thus creating the premises for the sustainability of a gas industry in the country".
Diamantino Azevedo highlighted that the oil and gas sector is becoming increasingly robust, with the executive's strategy involving investment in refineries and other gas projects.
"It is not always a bet well understood by many, but our role is to direct policies and protect our partners, knowing that our industry is an almost permanent target of pressure forces whose agenda does not always take into account the reality of each country and the challenges that arise" to guarantee access to energy in all parts of the country, he added.
