Sonangol Aims to Strengthen Regional Ties in Oil and Gas Sector.
The Angolan government is on track to complete the privatization of its National Oil Company (NOC), Sonangol, by 2026. This initiative aims to diversify the government’s 30% stake in Sonangol, attracting private investors to help expand the company’s operations across the oil and gas value chain. The move supports Sonangol’s ambition to become a competitive operator and reaffirms its position as a strong partner for regional NOCs.
The upcoming Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) conference, Angola’s premier hydrocarbons event, scheduled for October 2-3 in Luanda, will showcase Sonangol’s transformation and its impact on oil and gas production in Angola and beyond. The event will bring together regional NOCs, global investors, and technology providers with Angolan companies to promote collaboration and integration, aligned with Angola’s commitment to bolstering regional energy security through oil and gas.
AOG is the largest oil and gas event in Angola, supported by the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Sonangol, the National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency, the African Energy Chamber, and the Petroleum Derivatives Regulatory Institute. The event serves as a platform for signing deals and advancing Angola’s oil and gas industry. Interested sponsors or delegates can contact [email protected] for participation details.
With over 60 years of industry experience, Sonangol remains at the forefront of Angola’s upstream oil and gas sector. The NOC has developed significant expertise through partnerships with international players like TotalEnergies, Chevron, Galp Energia, and ExxonMobil. In May 2024, Sonangol and its partners, including TotalEnergies, announced a final investment decision for the $6 billion Kaminho deepwater project in Angola. This project, featuring the Cameia and Golfinho fields, includes an FPSO expected to produce 70,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) once operational by 2028.
In the downstream sector, Sonangol is enhancing Angola’s refining capacity through cooperation with international investors, positioning itself as a key supplier of petroleum products to the regional market. In March 2024, Sonangol awarded a contract to engineering firm KBR for constructing the 200,000 bpd Lobito Refinery in Benguela province. Additionally, Sonangol is spearheading the development of the 60,000 bpd Cabinda refinery, the 100,000 bpd Soyo refinery, and upgrades to the existing Luanda refinery.
This extensive experience makes Sonangol a valuable partner for emerging producers across southern Africa. Namibia, which has made significant deepwater discoveries in the Orange Basin since 2022, has collaborated with Sonangol on oil and gas projects, including logistics and capacity building. In March 2024, Sonangol signed an agreement with Namibia’s NOC Namcor and the Namibian Ports Authority to develop an integrated logistics hub to support the country’s oil and gas sector, leveraging Sonangol’s 30 years of expertise in managing oil and gas logistics services in Angola.
Beyond Namibia, Angola and Zambia are strengthening ties in the oil and gas industry, with collaboration on downstream infrastructure. Sonangol is working with Zambian entities on the $5 billion Angola-Zambia Oil Pipeline, a proposed 1,400 km pipeline to transport oil from Angola’s Lobito Refinery to Lusaka in Zambia. In April 2024, technical work for the pipeline was completed, moving the project closer to the construction stage. Zambia also signed a cooperation agreement with Angola in 2022, securing a stake in the Sonangol-owned Lobito Refinery.
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Meanwhile, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed an agreement in July 2023 to co-develop the Chevron-operated Block 14, located on the maritime border of the two countries. This deal will enable the DRC to leverage expertise from both Chevron and Sonangol to enhance its oil and gas production. In December 2023, Sonangol expanded its role in regional energy security by signing oil by-products supply agreements with the DRC’s NOC Sonahydroc.
As Sonangol strives to enhance regional collaboration, the AOG 2024 conference will be an ideal platform to connect regional NOCs. Through panel discussions, networking functions, and technical workshops, the event will promote partnerships and investment under the theme “Driving Exploration and Development Towards Increased Production in Angola.”
