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Angola shortlists bids for 100,000 bpd refinery
ANGOLA
ANGOLA’S mineral resources and petroleum ministry has shortlisted proposals from inter- national contractors for the construction of a 100,000 barrel per day (bpd) oil re nery in its coastal city of Soyo. e proposed plant is one of three re neries the southern African state plans to build to overcome shortages of petroleum products.
Angola closed the bidding process for the project last week, a er extending the deadline by more than a month “to ensure a better quality of bid.” e petroleum ministry said on February 3 it had received a total of 31 proposals in the tender, nine of which it intends to consider. ey were submitted by SDRC, Jiangsu Sinochem Construction, Quantem Consortium, CMEC, AIDA and VSF, Tobaka Investment Group, Atis Nebest Angola, Satarem, Gemcorp Capital and CPP.
e contractors o ered to build the facility in periods ranging from 16 to 40 months. e win- ner of the contest will be announced on March 31, according to the ministry. e plant is due to start production in 2023.
Africa’s second-biggest oil producer after Nigeria has sought for years to boost its re ning capacity in order to ease fuel and power short- ages. e country currently has only one re nery – a 65,000 bpd plant in its capital Luanda that can cover around 20% of national fuel demand.
It aims to build three new refineries in Cabinda, Lobito and Soyo, but these projects have faced signi cant delays because of problems nding investors.
National oil company (NOC) Sonangol awarded a contract to Hong Kong-based consor- tium United Shine last year to build the 60,000
bpd Cabinda re nery. But it terminated the deal in December, according to local press, citing the group’s failure to prove it had the nancial capa- bility to see the project through.
Sonangol went on to sign a preliminary agreement on nancing and implementation of the project with London-based investment rm Gemcorp Capital last month, and has said it is looking for other investors as well.
Cabinda is due to start up by the end of 2021, initially processing only 30,000 bpd of crude, before reaching its full capacity two years later.
Lobito is the largest of the three planned re n- eries, with a throughput capacity of 200,000 bpd. e project, with a $10bn budget, was initiated in 2012 but shelved four years later because of the oil price crash. Sonangol renewed its search for investment partners in late 2017.
All three re neries are expected to be con- structed on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.
Sonangol is also seeking to modernise the Luanda plant, with plans to add a new naphtha hydrotreater, a new naphtha splitter and a new catalytic reforming unit, among other facilities. It is working on the project with Italian rms Eni, Maire Tecnimont and KT-Kinetics Technology.
e Angolan government is particularly anx- ious to see progress at its new re ning projects, a er the country su ered some of its worst fuel shortages for years last spring.
The crisis was caused by a spike in fuel demand and a shortage of dollars to pay for imports. It led to the sacking of the chairman of state oil company Sonangol, and damaged the popularity of Angolan President Joao Lourenco.™
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w w w. N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 05 06•February•2020