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Sonangol reveals details of IPO plan

ANGOLA SONANGOL, the national oil company (NOC) (ANPG).
of Angola, has revealed details of its plan to issue Martins also explained last week that the
an initial public offering (IPO) of stock. upcoming IPO was designed to support the
According to Sebastião Gaspar Martins, NOC’s ongoing restructuring effort. This pro-
Sonangol’s chairman, the government-owned gramme “prioritises financial stability,” he said
company is gearing up to sell 30% of its equity during his speech at the conference, and is
in the IPO. The stock will be listed in multiple designed to allow Sonangol to focus on its core
locations, starting with the Angola Debt and activities – namely, the exploration, production,
Stock Exchange in Luanda and expanding later transportation, distribution, processing and
into foreign venues, he said during an address at sale of crude oil and natural gas, as well as their
the Angola Oil & Gas 2021 conference. derivatives. As such, it will include divestment,
“We are analysing several different stock in the form of “changes to the core business, a
markets, starting with Luanda, but in a second financial and portfolio restructuring, regulatory
phase also London and Wall Street,” Martins structures and an organisational support axis,”
was quoted as saying by Angolan press agencies. he explained. ™
“Luanda will certainly come first.”
The sale could generate as much as $5-7bn in
budget revenues, he added.
The Sonangol chairman did not say exactly
when the Angolan government expected to
proceed with the IPO. However, he told the Lusa
news agency on the sidelines of the conference
that Luanda might need as much as three or four
years to prepare. Since Angola’s government
wants the stock issue to succeed, it is willing
to move slowly so that it can resolve questions
relating to Sonangol’s former status as conces-
sionaire of the country’s hydrocarbon resources,
he explained.
The NOC has not acted as concessionaire
since June 2019. At that time, the government
reassigned that function to a newly created state
body, the National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency Angola’s government aims to sell 30% of stock in Sonangol (Photo: Sonangol)

Namibian MP urges government to

require ReconAfrica to build refinery

NAMIBIA THEMISTOKLES Murorua, a member of oil and buy fuel back at a high price? In [the]
Namibia’s lower house of Parliament, has urged absence of that condition, the government of
Windhoek to demand that ReconAfrica (Can- Namibia must have a plan to put up a refinery,”
ada) build a refinery as it develops crude oil he remarked.
reserves in the Kavango basin. Namibia’s Mines and Energy Minister Tom
Murorua, a member of the opposition fac- Alweendo, who was present in the National
tion known as United Democratic Front (UDF), Assembly on the same day, responded to the
said last week that the government ought to MP’s statements by declaring that Windhoek
push for the construction of an oil-processing had not made any decisions about the construc-
plant as a pre-condition for approval of Recon- tion of an oil refinery to supply the domestic fuel
Africa’s future development plans. Namibia may market. He said the government was not in a
not be able to optimise its gains from oil projects position to decide whether to build such a plant.
if it does not develop the capacity to meet its own Namibian officials cannot come to any con-
need for petroleum products, he argued. clusions yet, since no commercial oil discoveries
“Or are we going to export raw [crude] have been made to date, the minister explained..

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 37 15•September•2021