Africa-Press – Angola. The Spool base (rigid tube manufacturing unit) at the Sonamet company shipyard was inaugurated this Friday, in Lobito, by the Minister of Natural Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino de Azevedo.
The function of the Spool base is to manufacture and join pieces of pipe for oil services, using laser welding, based on the size ordered for a certain project.
During his presentation, Sonamet’s general director, Domingos Augusto, revealed that it was budgeted at eleven million dollars.
“The assembly system was designed by Subsea7, while the pipe storage area was designed and prepared by Sonamet,” he stated.
According to him, the manufacturing unit occupies an area of 32 thousand and 500 square meters, consisting of a tube storage area, a production pavilion, a 130 meter long workshop and a production and assembly area for simple tubes and the more complex (simple pipe and pipe-pipe).
“The structure operates in two 12-hour shifts and the number of jobs varies between 85 and 89 employees, including staff and support staff”, he said.
In his intervention, Diamantino de Azevedo revealed that Angola’s projects, mainly offshore and in deep waters, are very complex and require continuous staff training, creativity and investment in new technologies and modern manufacturing facilities.
Therefore, according to the minister, both operating companies and service providers have to adapt to the new context and innovate to overcome current challenges.
He recalled that oil and gas are Angola’s most important export products and that they represent 90 percent of foreign exchange earnings.
The oil industry represents more than a third of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the minister.
“We hope that the investment and inauguration of this Sonamet Spool base will reinforce its manufacturing capacity, creating new jobs for young Angolans, mainly for residents of this province”, said the official.
Diamantino de Azevedo thanked the investors, Sonangol and TotalEnergies, the Sonamet workers and everyone who contributed to making the project a reality.
At the moment, Sonamet’s Spool base is the only one in the country. The first belonged to Angoflex, was located in Barra do Dande, Bengo province, and is now deactivated.
Sonamet is a company that manufactures metallic structures for oil prospecting and production.
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