During a robust presentation and panel discussion held at the Invest in Angola side event at the African Energy Week (AEW) (https://AECWeek.com/) conference and exhibition in Cape Town, Osvaldo A. Inacio, Executive Director, Sonangol, showcased investment opportunities across the Angolan oil and gas industry and Sonangol as a reliable partner for global investors seeking massive and sustainable returns on energy investments.

Having reformed its mission, vision and values to ensure the sustainable development of the Angolan energy sector to drive resource development and monetization for energy security and economic growth, the company is an ideal firm to partner with for investors seeking to invest in a stable energy market and political environment, according to Inacio.

“We have played a crucial role in positioning Angola as Africa’s largest crude oil producer with Sonangol owning 17.5% of the country’s total production and securing 4.2 million tons of refined products to meet local demand. We have huge goals, our ambition is to increase production, gas monetization and development and set up Angola as a regional refinery hub. With the targets that we have set, we are looking for exploration and production partners to up production. We have the resources in ground, we just need to pump to drive industry growth. Regarding the energy transition, it is there but it needs to be done in a fair and just way, hence we need to continue investing in exploration but in a cleaner way. Opportunities for those interested in investing in exploration include in blocks 406 and 506 where we have stakes available for grab.”

Commenting on opportunities across the gas industry as Sonangol seeks to become a key player to support local consumption and exports, Inacio gave an update of some of the projects the energy company is currently deploying.

He said Sonangol signed a new gas concession in which the company has a big stake and is seeking reliable partners and investors to cooperate with to accelerate development. He said “the country is open for investment for gas, even for solar and we invite investors. We have moved towards gas development in Opaya in the northern side of the country where we are building a fertilizer plant which we will use the gas to power. We are participants in the New Gas Consortium and partners in the Sanha Lean Gas Project.”

Across the midstream sector, the executive highlighted projects such as the Soyo, Luanda and Cabinda refineries and the Barro do Dande Ocean Terminal which Sonangol is implementing and seeking investors to join.

He highlighted that ‘Angola has been importing a lot of refined products and we want to change that, why we have three refinery projects currently underway. Lobito is going to be a game changer for the country where we are looking for investors interested in joining us. We are grabbing partners as we go to avoid delays. The three refineries will add up to 450 000 barrels of energy per day in total, meaning there is going to be space for exports across the region. We are also discussing pipelines with regional countries. We have had a good conversation with Afreximbank about financing these projects.”

The executive director also promoted Sonangol’s renewable energy strategy which includes a 50 MW Solar PV plant the company is developing in Caracula, a 136 GWh gas-to-power generation facility in Zaire Falcao and a green hydrogen project set to be deployed in Saumbe while emphasizing that the company is there to enhance oil and gas exploration, production, trading and exploitation as well as energy transition projects. “We are not giving up oil yet, not just yet. We will be going to gas and move to renewables to address energy poverty in the country and drive economic growth. We plan to develop 1000 MW of renewables by 2030.”