Angola’s Lobito oil refinery project has attracted five separate proposals, three of them involving Chinese bidders.
According to national oil company Sonangol, the first proposal was submitted by Lanpec Technologies (China) and International Business Development Group – IBD (USA).
A second group of companies is made up of Hull Blyth Man Power, Comércio Geral e Prestação de Serviços Lda and two other Chinese companies: AVIC International Beijing and China Huanqiu Contracting & Engineering.
According to Sonangol, other bidders include a group formed by Gemcorp Holdings and Omatapalo – Engenharia e Construção, S.A.
The two other proposals are from Layher (Pty) and GazMin International, from the United Arab Emirates.
The refinery in Benguela province is expected to be able to process up to 200,000 barrels per day once completed.
According to the proposed corporate governance structure, private investors will own 70 per cent of the company, with state oil firm Sonangol controlling the remaining 30 per cent .
Angola is building two more refineries in the coastal cities of Cabinda and Soyo, as well as refurbishing and expanding the capacity of its existing Luanda refinery. It plans to process 360,000 barrels of oil per day locally.
Diamantino Azevedo, Angola’s oil minister, said the initial goal is to have enough capacity to supply the domestic market, with the aim of exporting to other countries in the region in future.
“We have been working with our counterparts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to make the relationship mutually beneficial,” said Azevedo.
“And the Zambian government is already studying the feasibility of a pipeline from Lobito.”
Angola is looking to break its dependence on oil imports. In 2019, it imported US$1.7 billion worth of fuel, CLBrief reported.
