Latest News

Angola's new Cabinda refinery to start up later this year-CEO

Angola's new Cabinda crude oil refinery is on track to launch later this year before ramping up to full first phase production of 30,000 barrels a day by July next year, the plant's President Marcelo Hofke said on Thursday.

With nearly two-thirds of the building completed, Cabinda is the most innovative of 3 new planned refineries, together with an Eni-supported << ENI-MI > plant in Luanda being upgraded, that Sub-Saharan Africa's second-biggest oil manufacturer is leaning on to cut imported refined products for domestic use.

The concept is to begin commissioning by the end of this year ... and we want to reach full production by the end of July, Hofke told .

The very first $473 million phase of the modular refinery will produce naphtha, jet fuel, diesel and heavy fuel oil (HFO), with the naphtha and HFO destined for export markets because Angola did not have much use for them, he said.

The first phase is expected to supply 10% of Angola's. domestic fuel market before doubling market share once the. 2nd phase to 60,000 bpd is completed.

Engineering for phase 2 is expected to begin as soon as the. commissioning starts by the end of this year, Felipe Berliner,. group chief investment officer at Gemcorp Holdings, said.

Gemcorp is a 90% shareholder in the Cabinda refinery and. state-owned company Sonangol holds the rest.

Berliner said banks that participated in the first stage are. keen to continue funding a second phase that's expected to take. the total cost to $1 billion. Amongst initial funders are Africa. Financing Corporation and African Export-Import Bank.

Our company believe that Cabinda has the potential to go way beyond. 60,000 bpd capability imagined to 90 or 120,000 barrels a day on. the exact same site, Berliner said.

(source: Reuters)