Luanda - The minister for Mining Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, said Monday in Luanda that the partial sale of Sonangol's stakes would promote better allocation of capital, greater business efficiency, creation of cost synergies and greater focus on the "oil and gas" value chain.
According to the government official, this is a common procedure in the industry, which is part of Sonangol's production and exploration strategy for its repositioning as the national oil operator, in some of Angola's offshore and onshore oil concessions.
Diamantino Azevedo was speaking at the launch of the process for divesting Sonangol's stake in blocks 03/05, 4/05, 5/06, 15/06, 18, 23, 27 and 31.
Highlighting the geological potential of Angola's Lower Congo and Kwanza sedimentary basins, where the concessions are located, the oil minister hoped that it would be true of the Namibe basin, which still lacked more detailed studies of the quantities of crude oil.
Due to the importance of the oil sector for Angola's development, the government has implemented a number of reforms in the legal, tax and contractual framework to attract more domestic and foreign investors.
According to the minister, such attractiveness is necessary for investors to get involved in the sector, with less bureaucracy and greater transparency, adjusted to the current reality, with effective and modern legislation.
"The opening of this process of partial alienation of the participative interests in some of Sonangol's oil concessions emerges from actions aimed at repositioning and sustainability of Sonangol's investment portfolio, to take on its financial commitments," Diamantino Azevedo confirmed.
Such financial commitments have to do with banking institutions, support the expenses associated with the acquisition of refined products, and reduce its financial exposure, as the representative body of the State with direct intervention in the oil concessions, as an investor.
