Our downstream activities consist of refining, marketing, trading, transportation and petrochemicals.
Refining
Despite being an oil producing country, Angola has only one small refinery located in Luanda and it does not have the capacity to satisfy internal demand and rapid economic growth. For this reason, Angola annually imports about 250 million dollars of oil derivatives. To meet the national demand, Sonangol has now started the construction of a new and modern refinery, Sonaref, with the objective of having complete integration of oil production and refining activities.
Sonaref is under construction in Lobito, province of Benguela. Its production capacity will be of about 200,000 bpd.
Marketing and trading
Our subsidiaries' offices in London (established in 1983), Houston (established in 1997) and Singapore (established in 2004) are the driving force of the company's international sales operation.
With trading offices on three continents we can state that Sonangol's marketing activities for oil business are open 24 hours a day. At the present Sonangol sells 300,000 bpd in the international markets.
In Angola the sale is controlled by Gabinete de Operações de Comercialização who, on behalf of the international trading offices, also manages their logistics and administration contracts in order to guarantee smooth and fast operations.
Distribution
Sonangol offers a variety of oil derivatives for use in the automotive, marine and railroad industries.
The distribution and marketing of these products is handled by Distribuidora who offers products such as lubricants, oils, greases, tanks of propane and stoves. Distribuidora also has a network of gas and service stations in Angola.
By the end of 2005 Distribuidora foresees the beginning of its international expansion with the opening of 30 gas stations in Portugal.
Transportation
To move the production of crude and its derivatives, Sonangol relies on two of its subsidiaries:
Sonangol Shipping whose mission is to transport crude and
Sonaship whose mission is to transport refined products. Natural Gas
Within the scope of Sonangol strategy for natural gas, the subsidiary “Sonangol Natural Gas Ltd" was recently created, its mission is to develop this activity within Sonangol Group, which understands research, develop, produce, store, transport and to commercialize natural gas and its derivatives. One of the great investments of this subsidiary inside the activity of natural gas is Angola LNG Project, whose objective seats in the exploitation of the gas currently burnt in Angola, and to allow the development of a new gas industry in the Soyo region.
ALNG's plant, to be located in Soyo, 300 kilometers north of Luanda, is scheduled to come online in 2008.