Angola announced on Thursday that it had launched a new and modern gasoline production complex at the Luanda Refinery.
According to government, the new facility will immediately increase its gasoline production capacity to 1,200 metric tons per day up from to the current 300 tons.
President of the Republic, João Lourenço on thursday officially opened the new refining unit allocated to Sonangol, it will increase gasoline production in the country.
The new facility also includes a combined cycle power plant, as well as an electrical cabin that will have the capacity to generate five megavolts amperes (MVA) of energy.
Angola’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, H.E. Diamantino de Azevedo,that building new refineries and modernizing existing ones will enable Angola to sustain its energy supply while reducing costs incurred from energy imports.
To date, a lack of infrastructure has resulted in Angola spending over U$1.7 billion on oil imports per annum to meet domestic energy needs.
Angola is sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest oil and gas producer with a current production capacity of about 1.1 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) and 17,904.5 million cubic feet of natural gas.
The country’s oil and gas sector accounts for about one-third of its gross domestic product (GDP) and more than 90% of total exports.
Angola has 8.2 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and an estimated 13.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas reserves.
The country currently has just one operational refinery, the Luanda Refinery, operated by energy company, Fina Petroleos de Angola, and national oil company, Sonangol, processing up to 65,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd).
A U$235 million project, however, is underway to expand the Luanda refinery to 72,000 bpd – a development which the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas says will help Angola save U$200 million in energy export costs.
