Angola’s national oil company Sonangol has announced an extended unit at Luanda oil refinery in bid to boost production of crude oil products fourfold, especially petrol.
President of the Republic of Angola, Joao Lourenco inaugurated the unit and said the addition will significantly enhance energy security and saving the government millions of dollars’ worth of imports. The refinery expansion comes at a time when global oil prices are in a constant state of fluctuation owing to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
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Reducing imports
The Unit was built with support from Italian energy major, Eni. It is set to increase fuel production fourfold to 1,580,000 liters per day, reducing imports by up to 15% annually.
“We are satisfied with this achievement. Producing fuel in large quantities will allow us to earn well and no longer spend on imports,” stated H.E. João Lourenço.
Despite representing the biggest oil producer in Africa, producing 1.16 million bpd in May 2022, Angola imports the majority of its refined products, with the country spending $1.4 billion importing fuel in 2021. With the refinery upgrade, the country aims to improve the production of refined products, increasing domestic supply while reducing imports.
According Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, H.E. Diamantino de Azevedo, building new refineries and modernizing existing ones will enable Angola to sustain its energy supply while reducing costs incurred from energy imports. To date, a lack of infrastructure has resulted in Angola spending on oil imports to meet domestic energy needs.