Angola’s National Oil Company (NOC) Sonangol and construction and engineering company, the China National Chemical Engineering Company (CNCEC), have signed a contract for the construction of the $6 billion Lobito refinery in the southern African country.
The final agreement, which was signed on 24 October in the city of Lobito, Benguela Province, provides for the construction, technical support and supervision of the construction process for the 200,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery.
“The processing capacities of the Lobito refinery remain at 200,000 bpd and the estimated cost of the investment is around $6 billion,” stated Angola’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo.
During the signing of the contracts, Minister Azevedo instructed the NOC to immediately begin a feasibility study for the development of a chemical component to utilize the refinery’s by-products.
“Hydrocarbons aren’t just used for fuel,” the Minister stated, adding, “Today, many products in our daily lives and in various industries come from hydrocarbons, and here at this refinery we can study the possibility of using the by-products of oil derivatives that will arise in the refining process, so that we can build a petrochemical industry.”
Poised to reduce Angola’s dependence on imports of refined products, including gasoline and diesel, the Lobito refinery will enable the southern African country to export and supply refined fuels to neighboring countries.