According to local media reports in Angola, Angola’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Oil, Dimantino Azevedo, recently said in Luanda that Angola’s oil production accounts for only 20% of the daily domestic consumption demand, while the rest of the oil consumption depends on imports from abroad.
The minister said that Angola imported nearly 3 million tons of refined oil in 2019, which cost more than $1 billion. Such imports require a lot of foreign exchange expenditure, which can be used for public investment and other expenditures in Angola.
At present, in order to reverse this trend, the Angolan government has formulated an oil refining strategic plan, which includes the construction of refineries in Cabinda, Lobito and Soyo, and the modernization and optimization of the Luanda refinery.
The goal of the Cabinda project is to build and operate an oil refinery in Malbom, with an oil production capacity of 60,000 barrels per day and an initial investment of $650 million, Minister Azevedo said.
He said that the construction project of Cabinda refinery is a necessary investment to cover the deficit caused by the current shortage of refined petroleum products in Angola’s domestic market and can reduce the foreign exchange expenditure required for the country’s imports.
