Diamantino Azevedo was speaking during a ministerial panel at the Angola Oil & Gas international conference, an initiative by consultancy Energy Capital & Power, on the use of resources in Angola and the region for the energy development of Africa.
The panel, which also included the ministers responsible for this sector from Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Namibia, as well as those responsible for the area from Sierra Leone and Senegal, and the secretary general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Diamantino Azevedo responded affirmatively to the executive president of the African Chamber of Energy, NJ Ayuk, who questioned him about the possibility of Angola having floating platforms (FLNG).
"Soon", said the ruler.
Speaking to Lusa, the chairman of Sonangol, Sebastião Gaspar Martins, explained that the development of these infrastructures is associated with discoveries made and feasibility studies in Angola's offshore.
"It is [a project] conceptual, and still based on what will be the feasibility studies", he said, indicating that the platforms could be in remote areas, since even though they are very far from the main Angolan liquefaction unit – the Angola LNG factory – these platforms can be used to liquefy gas further offshore.
With an investment of 12 billion dollars, Angola LNG was built to take advantage of offshore natural gas resources and is one of the largest undertakings ever undertaken in the oil and gas sector in Angola.
The project is the result of a partnership between Sonangol and the multinationals Chevron, BP, Eni and Total to annually collect, process and release 5.2 million tons of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to the global market.
The project also supplies the Angolan market to help meet the energy needs of industry and local consumption.
With a permanent fleet of seven LNG tankers and three loading terminals (LNG, liquids and compressed butane), the aim is to minimize gas reinjection and flaring, provide clean and reliable energy to customers and maximize return on investment.
The facilities are located 350 kilometers north of Luanda, in Soyo, at the mouth of the Congo River.
