Page 7 - AfrOil Week 30 2021

AfrOil COMMENTARY AfrOil

Plans to build the Lobito unit are part of a first stage of operation. Meanwhile, Engineers
broader strategy to modernise and expand India Ltd was awarded a contract for FEED
Angola’s refining capabilities, which are cur- validation and review of basic engineering and
rently limited to the ageing 38,000 bpd Luanda design in mid-2015.
refinery near the capital, and to reduce depend- BP, Eni and Total have all previously held
ence on imported fuels. talks with Luanda about possible investment,
The programme also provides for the con- and the Italian firm agreed in late 2015 to review
struction of another two refineries in Soyo the plans.
(100,000 bpd) and Cabinda (60,000 bpd) and for
the modernisation and upgrade of the existing Level of intent
Luanda facility. Little known British firm Gemcorp Capital
Angolan authorities began discussing plans holds a 90% stake alongside Sonangol Refin-
for the Lobito project around 20 years ago, but ing (Sonaref) in the $920mn Cabinda project,
progress has been slow. Sonangol announced while the similarly obscure Quanten LLC won
in 2019 that it had received 68 offers in a tender the contract for the $3.5bn Soyo plant, which
for the right to build the refinery, but thus far no appears set to receive more than two thirds of its
winner has ever been announced. funding in US export credit.
A deal was signed in 2007 with Chinese At 200,000 bpd, Lobito is a significantly big-
refining giant Sinopec to develop and fund the ger undertaking. And while European majors
scheme, while a front-end engineering and are reducing their exposure to projects across
design (FEED) study on the Lobito plant was the hydrocarbon value chain, Luanda will be
completed by KBR in 2010. hoping to attract a household name for its flag-
In 2011, the oil ministry said that Lobito ship refinery as the country aims to breathe new
would process around 120,000 bpd during its life into its oil sector. ™

PIPELINES & TRANSPORT
Ugandan law firm files suit to

force audit of EACOP procurement

UGANDA MUWEMA & Co. Advocates, a Kampala-based
law firm, has filed suit in the High Court of
Uganda in a bid to halt work on the East Africa
Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and related
upstream projects.
In documents submitted to the court and
cited by PML Daily, Andrew Oluka, one of the
firm’s advocates, said that Muwema & Co. had
initiated legal action in order to put an end to
violations of Ugandan local content require-
ments. The suit aims to force a review of pro-
curement processes related to the EACOP
project and “make sure that local Ugandan com-
panies and service providers are involved in the
project, as provided in the constitution under
provision of national content,” he wrote. EACOP will carry 216,000 bpd of Ugandan oil (Image: African Energy Chamber)
The lawsuit names the Petroleum Authority
of Uganda (PAU) and the two foreign companies In the suit, Oluka alleged that these EoI
involved in EACOP, China National Offshore notices contravened local content requirements
Oil Corp. (CNOOC) and France’s TotalEn- that give Ugandan companies priority and
ergies, as defendants. It accuses these parties sought relief in the form of a High Court order
of engaging in $7.5bn worth of unauthorised directing PAU to conduct a formal audit of pro-
procurement activities, including $5bn related curement processes. Additionally, he requested
to EACOP and $2.5bn related to the develop- that the court bar the defendants from engag-
ment of the Kingfisher and Tilenga oilfields near ing in procurement activities that do not com-
Lake Albert. The documents describe the unau- ply with local laws and regulations and urges
thorised activities as publishing expressions of the court to rule that all income generated by
interest (EoI) notices that did not reserve certain the EACOP project be designated as taxable in
contracts for Ugandan companies. Uganda.

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