Angola’s resources minister Diamantino Azevedo says he hopes Angola can broaden economic cooperation with China beyond the oil sector to gas, renewables and solar energy.
He added that he was also “very optimistic about the existing cooperation as Chinese companies are participating in the production and exploration of Angola’s resources such as minerals, diamonds, copper, and other minerals”.
The minister was speaking to Chinese broadcaster CGTN last week, after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the China National Chemical Engineering Company (CNCEC) and Angola’s national oil company Sonangol for the construction of a crude oil refinery at Lobito on Angola’s Atlantic coast.
[See more: Construction gets underway at Angola’s massive hydropower project]
Hailing the refinery as “a very significant project for our country”, Azevedo said: “Currently Angola is an oil-producing nation, but imports 80 percent of its necessities in terms of petroleum-based derivatives. And in light of this fact, our government has decided that we must overcome this constraint and become self-sufficient in the production of oil derivatives”.
Financing is now being raised for the project with a potential construction contract going to CNCEC.
When completed in 2026, the Lobito refinery will have the capacity to produce up to 200,000 barrels of refined crude per day (bpd).
