By:Nghiinomenwa-vali Erastus
The planned Lobito Oil Refinery, in which Angola offered Namibia equity, will be the largest in Angola, with 200,000 barrels per day expected to be refined at that coastal town.
This is according to a presentation madeto a Namibian delegation by the Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola (Sanangol), a company that oversees petroleum and natural gas production in Angola.
A Namibia energy delegation visited Angola last month, with one of their aims to listen to that country’s pitch on an equity offer to Namibia on the Lobito Refinery.
The Namibian government, however, has yet to pronounced itself on the equity offer.
According to the presentation acquired from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Lobito Refinery’s estimated nominal capacity is 200,000 barrels per day, and if the numbers online are accurate, it might become the biggest refinery in southern Africa.
The Single Train Hydrocracking Status refinery is under development and is estimated to be concluded in 2027.
In terms of project development, so far offloading of refinery equipment as well as offloading and on loading of crude and refined products has been done.
While dredging of Lobito Bay to 15m depth on low tide is also executed.
The refinery product specification shows for Diesel/Gasoline is Euro 5 and fuel oil is IMO.
The refinery will also supply Jetta fuel (2%) which is 3,000 barrels of oil per day.
As for diesel, it will refine 51,105 barrels of oil per day, 22,460 barrels per day.
Fuel oil production is estimated at 21,460 per barrel per day (bpd) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) (4%) for internal consumption.
The Angolan government defined a goal to begin the construction of a grassroots refinery in 2022 with the aim to develop the refining sector, reduce the country’s dependence on imported refined products, and promote the petrochemical industry.
Furthermore, the aim is to add value to Angolan crude oilin order to satisfy local consumption and for the country to become a key supplier of refined products for the region.
At the same time, the country aims to become competitive and efficient through the installation of complex refineries, with a focus on environmental sustainability.
Angola also aims to reach a total nominal capacity of refined products equivalent to 440,000 bpd.
Beyond the Lobito refinery, under development are the Cabinda and Soyo refinery projects, and together they will add 360,000 bpd to the existing 80,000 bpd already supplied by the Luanda and Cabinda refineries.
The Soyo Refinery is an estimated nominal capacity 100,000 barrels per day which is a full conversion type refinery and is projected to be concluded in 2027.
The other refined project under development, which is to be completed this year (phase 1), is the Cabinda Oil Refinery with a nominal capacity of 60,000 bpd.
To develop its oil and gas sector, Angola has strategic institutions such as the National Oil and Gas Agency (ANPG) that assume the role of regulator, concessionaire, and supervisor of upstream activities within the industry.
Angola’s strategy is to intensify the hydrocarbon exploration activity in the country to guarantee the continuous expansion of knowledge of its oil potential.
The call has been loud for countries that need to act now to transition to cleaner energy sources.
While in July 2022, the African Union adopted the African Common Position on Energy Access and Just Transition, Angola has vowed to develop and implement an action plan for the energy transition.
Angola’s ongoing initiatives in the O&G sector are aimed to contribute to the achievement of the country’s goals which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 24% for the country to continue to be a preferable market for investment in the oil and gas industry.
Major oil and gas companies in the Angolan oil and gas industry are Chevron, Total, BP, Eni, and Exxonmobil. Email: erastus@thevillager.com.na
Lobito Oil Refinery Will Be The Biggest In Angola And Southern Africa … with 200,000 barrels per day
