Luanda - The chairperson of the Executive Commission of Sonangol's Exploration and Production Business Unit (UNEP), Ricardo Van-Deste, said that Angola will have enough crude oil production to feed the refineries that are planned and already underway.
These are the Cabinda, Soyo and Lobito refineries and modernisation and optimisation of the Luanda refinery.
"The issue is that that production may have to be bought by those refineries at competitive market prices," Van-Deste said in an interview with the March 2021 edition of Sonangol newspaper "Pacaça.
Angola currently has a daily production of 1.2 million barrels of crude oil, a volume that could change in the near future with the start-up of new fields.
"Looking at current capacity and the crude oil conversion capacity of the refineries, we can see that there will be enough oil to feed them," he added.
For example, the Cabinda refinery will have a conversion capacity of 60,000 barrels of oil per day and the Soyo refinery (Zaire) was projected to have a production capacity of 100,000 barrels of crude per day.
The Lobito refinery (Benguela), which is considered to be a high conversion facility, will have a production capacity of 200,000 barrels per day and will cover an area of around 150 hectares.
It is expected to produce unleaded gasoline, diesel, Jet1 (aviation fuel), lamp oil, a limited amount of sulphur and coke.
The Luanda refinery, which is currently being modernised and optimised, will have a production capacity of 450,000 tons of gasoline per year, as compared to 72,000 tons currently, after the project is concluded in 2022.
UNEP relaunches 4 onshore blocks
For the 2021 financial year, UNEP, with regard to exploration, has planned to acquire 1,500 square kilometres of 3D seismic in each operated Block 5/06 and 27.
UNEP will likewise re-launch onshore activity in four blocks operated by it, one of the main assets being Block 3/05, where a revitalisation programme is underway, with the aim of not only increasing production but also improving the integrity of the facilities which have over 35 years of production history.
