Page 14 - DMEA Week 26 2021

DMEA FUELS DMEA

Sonangol hires Vitol and

TOTSA for fuel import

AFRICA ANGOLA’S state-owned Sonangol this week product imports and giving it scope to become
announced that it had contracted Vitol and Total an exporter of fuels. In addition to the Cabinda
Trading SA (TOTSA) – a subsidiary of France’s unit, the Luanda facility is being overhauled,
TotalEnergies – to import gasoline and diesel for while a 100,000 bpd facility is being constructed
the next year. at Soyo in the northern Zaire province.
The award will see Vitol import gasoline The future flagship of the industry, however,
and TOTSA diesel following a public tender will be the 200,000 bpd greenfield unit that has
launched by Sonangol in March. A total of 27 been at the planning stage, just outside the port
companies were invited to participate, ensuring city of Lobito in Benguela Province, since the
a competitive process. turn of the century.
Bids were submitted by London-based BP; Sonangol last week said it would launch a
trading houses Trafigura, Gunvor and Mercuria; tender for advisory services related to the estab-
Japan’s Idemitsu; Portuguese integrated player lishment of the company that will operate a new-
Galp; UK-based Gemcorp, which is develop- build refinery and to the financing of the refinery
ing a 60,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in the project. It will hold an event on July 9 at which it
Cabinda exclave; Vitol and TOTSA. will explain the requirements for participation
Only 25% of refined products sold in the in the tender, while revealing the deadlines for
country during 2020 were refined domestically submitting bids.
– at the ageing 38,000 bpd Luanda refinery – Sonangol’s downstream arm Sonaref expects
while 3% were provided by facilities belonging the $8bn facility to be completed by 2025 at a
to Chevron subsidiary Cabinda Gulf Oil Com- 1.5-square km site just north of Lobito.
pany Ltd (CABGOC), with the remaining 72% Angola has around 680,000 cubic metres
imported. of liquid fuel storage, with Sonangol hold-
Angola has several ongoing downstream ing 52.45% and the remainder held by trader
projects aimed at reducing its reliance on refined Pumangol.™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 26 01•July•2021