Luanda - The construction of three oil refineries in Angola will allow the creation of over 5,000 jobs, the President of the Republic, João Lourenço said on Monday in Luanda.
The President assured that the construction of the Cabinda Refinery will be a reality, with the first phase expected to come into operation at the end of 2024, with an initial processing capacity of 30,000 barrels per day.
On the occasion, the President of the Republic said that the construction project for the Soyo Refinery, which will have a processing capacity of 100,000 barrels/day, is in its initial phase.
On the other hand, he highlighted the resumption of the Lobito Refinery construction project, after years of work on the project being halted, which will have the capacity to process 200,000 barrels per day.
The entry into operation of these industrial units is expected to generate more than 2,000 effective jobs, in addition to saving the State coffers millions of dollars, which the Government spends every year on importing almost all refined products.
Additionally, he added that structural transformation is coming to the oil refining industry, remembering that the Luanda Refinery quadrupled its processing capacity, as a result of the modernization that was carried out.
With this, he said, the country is about to achieve its objective of moving from being an importer of refined petroleum products to becoming an exporter of these derivatives, saving foreign currency and offering qualified employment to young engineers, technicians and other workers.
He also mentioned that Angola is close to normalizing the field of liquid fuel storage, with floating storage of liquids having already been completely eliminated.
In this area, he said that the country has an onshore storage capacity of 675,968 cubic meters, which will increase substantially with another 582,000 cubic meters, after the completion of works on the Barra do Dande Ocean Terminal, in the province of Bengo, in the end of 2024.
According to the President of the Republic, the country will now have the capacity to set up a Strategic Fuel Reserve, with a view to supplying the national market and creating the export chain for surplus production.
Between 2024 and 2025, he said, Angola will also increase its storage capacity, with a fuel installation project in Lucapa (Lunda Norte), expansion of the Lobito Ocean Terminal (Benguela) and Cabinda Ocean Terminal.
Oil production in Angola already reached levels of 1.8 million barrels in 2015, an average that has fallen to current figures, influenced in part by insufficient investment in the sector and unscheduled stoppages.
With a production of 1.1 million barrels/day, the country currently has reserves estimated at nine billion barrels of crude oil and 5.95 billion cubic meters of gas natural gas.
In the field of gas, the implementation of projects aimed at monetizing natural gas continues, with emphasis on the new gas consortium, which will promote the production of non-associated gas and, consequently, increase the supply of this resource, as well as guarantee the generation of electrical energy.
This consortium will also enable the implementation of fertilizer factories and feed the future steel industry that is intended to be developed in the province of Namibe.
He said that the completion of the “Sanha Lean Conection” project is scheduled for 2024, which will allow the production, treatment and supply of around 480 million cubic feet of gas to the Angola LNG plant, with the “Quiluma” and “Maboqueiro” of the new gas consortium”, which is expected to produce, at its peak, around 364 million cubic feet per day.
He also highlighted that the Falcão 2 Project is being created in the province of Zaire, which will increase the volume of natural gas supplied to the Soyo Combined Cycle Plant, with a capacity of 50 million cubic feet per day. QCB/AC/PPA/TED/DOJ
