Sonangol, the national oil firm of Angola, has announced that it will be adding a production unit to the Luanda Refinery, which is the only oil refinery in operation in the country at a capacity of 65,000 barrels per day (bpd).
The energy sector giant Eni of Italy provided funding for the construction of the unit, which will greatly boost the production of refined petroleum products in Angola. As a result, the country’s energy security will improve, and the government will save tens of millions of dollars on imports. Because of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the development of the refinery takes place at a time when the price of oil around the world is in a state of continuous flux.
Angola’s gasoline production will increase by a factor of four, reaching 1,580,000 liters per day, after another production unit at the refinery is brought online. This would result in a reduction of up to 15 percent of the country’s yearly imports.
“We are satisfied with this achievement,” stated H.E. João Lourenço, President of the Republic of Angola at the ribbon-cutting ceremony in Luanda, adding, “Producing fuel in large quantities will allow us to earn well and no longer spend on imports.”
Despite representing the biggest oil producer in Africa, producing 1.16 million bpd in May 2022, Angola imports the majority of its refined products, with the country spending $1.4 billion importing fuel in 2021.
With the refinery upgrade, the country aims to improve the production of refined products, increasing domestic supply while reducing imports.
