Africa-Press – Angola. Sonangol saw the consumption of refined products “soar” in the national market, in 2022, with records in the order of 4.5 million metric tons (MT), corresponding to 18% above consumption in 2021.
For the oil company, such an increase in consumption (based on imports and national production) represented the resumption of economic activity in Angola, according to the chairman of the Board of Directors of Sonangol, Gaspar Martins, who presented the company’s results for 2022 .
In 2022, the new Gasoline Production Complex at the Luanda Refinery came into operation which, according to Sonangol, quadrupled its gasoline production capacity (395,000 to 1.5 million liters/day), having, by the end of it, reached a production of around 85 thousand metric tons.
Such refining levels allowed a reduction of 92 million dollars in costs with imports of diesel and gasoline.
The oil company’s data also point out, as main performance indicators, the processing of 17.2 million barrels of crude oil at the Luanda Refinery, 17% more compared to 2021, which resulted in a 17% positive variation in the production of refined products and, therefore, a coverage of domestic consumption needs of around 30%.
The combined production of fuel oil and diesel represented around 50% of total production during the past year.
Meanwhile, the production of Jet A1 (fuel for aircraft) continued to be sufficient to supply the domestic market, without resorting to imports, ie, self-sufficiency of this product in Angola remains.
Cabinda refinery advances
In addition to the refinery in Luanda, there is a focus on works at the Cabinda refinery, further north of the country, whose works have already registered an overall physical progress of 24%.
The first tests at the refinery will begin at the end of 2023, according to Sonangol’s PCA.
The refinery was designed for a processing capacity of around 30,000 barrels of oil/day in the first phase and another 30,000 for the second phase, making a total of 60,000 barrels of oil to be refined.
Gaspar Martins made it known that construction work on the support infrastructure is underway, on site and in Houston (equipment construction), with 80% already at the installation, with a forecast for completion of the 1st phase aimed at the end of the current year.
Still within the scope of refining projects, highlights the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, with Quanten Consortium Angola, for the investment and development of the Soyo Refinery with the processing capacity of up to 100 thousand barrels of oil/day.
In addition to this, a Memorandum of Understanding was also signed with the same company, within the framework of the development of the Lobito Refinery construction and operationalization project, which foresees a nominal capacity of 200 thousand barrels of oil/day, and is currently underway pre-EPC work (engineering, acquisitions and construction) and FEED conclusion work (basic engineering).
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