This Friday, the state oil company signed the Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract with the Chinese company China National Chemical Engineering (CNCEC), the Project Construction Supervision Contract with the American company KBR, and the Consultancy Services contract for Technical Support with the Angolan company DAR.
The project, whose preparation phase took place between 2012 and 2016, and underwent optimization in the period between 2018 and 2021, will start this year.
Speaking to the press, the Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, said that the Lobito Refinery, with a processing capacity of 200 thousand barrels per day, is a strategic project for the country and the region.
Despite the global situation, the minister stressed, the Government is determined to carry out the project, due to its importance for the country's economy and economic diversification.
Diamantino Azevedo highlighted that studies were reviewed from a technical and economic point of view, achieving “a significant reduction”. “In principle, we now have an established cost of around six billion dollars for the construction of the project”, he highlighted.
Regarding the participation of the neighboring Republic of Zambia, which also expressed interest in participating in this project, the official said that discussions are continuing with the Zambian Government “to see if the expression of interest actually materializes”.
“There are also other countries in our region that are looking at the possibility of becoming shareholders in this project, we will continue to talk to these countries and in due course we will be able to provide more information”, announced the minister.
During the signing of the contracts, Diamantino de Azevedo instructed Sonangol to immediately begin a feasibility study for the construction of a chemical component, to use the refinery's by-products.
“Hydrocarbons (oil and gas) are not only used as fuel, today many products in our daily lives and in various industries come from hydrocarbons, and here at this refinery we can study the possibility of using the by-products of petroleum derivatives, which will appear in the refining process, so that we can build a petrochemical industry”, he highlighted.
The Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas highlighted that, taking into account that the Chinese company is also specialized in the construction of the petrochemical industry, Sonangol should take advantage of this experience, “so that further studies can be carried out towards the economic viability of also installing the petrochemical component”.
According to the holder of the Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas portfolio, the guidance was public to “engage the two companies more and to ensure that work is being done in this direction”.
A joint project between Sonangol and a private Angolan company, Diamantino de Azevedo also announced, is being carried out to build an ammonia factory, one of the main components for fertilizers, and urea in the municipality of Soyo, Zaire province, using gas as its raw material.
