Angola has introduced changes in the oil sector to make it more efficient and competitive in the segments of exploration, production and distribution, said on Wednesday in Cape Town, South Africa, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Oil, Diamantino Azevedo.
The minister, who is attending the International Mining Fair “Mining Indaba”, said in an interview with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) that the sector’s strategy is to increase production, refining and distribution capacity of oil and its derivatives.
Although the country produces more than 1.4 million barrels of oil per day, the minister recalled that Angola imports 80% of its needs in terms of oil derivatives, hence it has launched three projects for the construction of refineries with capacity of 200,000, 100,000 and 60,000 barrels per day in the provinces of Benguela, Cabinda and Zaire.
In addition to the construction of three new refineries, he also said the rehabilitation and expansion of the refinery of Luanda were underway and when all these ventures are in full operation Angola will be self-sufficient and can export surplus production.
He said that another strategy focuses on increasing onshore storage capacity because currently most oil derivatives are stored at sea, according to the Angop news agency.
In relation to the mining sub-sector, the minister recalled that a few years ago the government launched a cartographic survey programme for the entire mining sector, which is in its completion phase, and by the end of the year Angola’s real mining capacity will be disclosed.
Source: Macauhub
