Angola to have hub focused on the diamond industry. A hub dedicated to the diamond industry in Angola will be inaugurated in 2019 in Saurimo, Lunda Sul province, the minister of Mineral Resources and Oil announced on Thursday. Diamantino Azevedo said that setting up the hub, a project developed jointly by state diamond mining and processing company Endiama and state diamond sales company Sodiam, is in its final phase.
The minister also said that the hub project includes a diamond cutting and polishing factory, a professional technical school and other institutions and industries linked to the diamond business. The minister, who was speaking at an end-of-year greeting ceremony explained the restructuring carried out in the sector, adding that the Ministry wants more companies to invest in diamond prospecting and mining, according to the Angop news agency. Portugal leaves the diamond sector in Angola after a century. November 4th, 2016 Home Angola, Portugal Portugal put an end to a century-long presence in the diamond sector in Angola with the signing of an agreement Thursday in Luanda, which ended the conflict between Angolan state diamond company Endiama and Sociedade Portuguesa de Empreendimentos (SPE).
Signed by the chairman of Endiama, António Carlos Sumbula and his SPE counterpart, Hélder de Oliveira, this document follows another agreement signed by the two parties in November 2015 in Lisbon, which suspended the arbitration and court proceedings involving the two parties. Under the agreement, SPE, following pecuniary compensation, has handed over to Endiama its 49% share in the Sociedade Mineira do Lucapa company, which also holds stakes in the Camutué, Calonda and Yetwene diamond mines in the province of Lunda Norte. Related News: Africa: Angola Leads Oil Production in Africa. Photo: Angop The logistics base of Sonils Luanda — With its 1.7 million barrels of crude oil a day, well above Nigeria's 1.5 million, Angola stood in September this year, for seven running months, at the head of the African oil producing countries.
The information is contained in a report from the Organisation of Petroleum Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC). The report states that Nigeria led the African ranking in 2016 with its 1.8 million barrels a day, against Angola's 1.7 million, but recorded a drop to 1.4 million in May this year, caused by terrorist attacks, armed groups and internal political instability. Angola: Sonangol 'Can't Even Afford Toilet Paper' AnalysisBy Maka Angola Employees at the Angolan oil giant have flushed out some startling news about Sonangol's continued decline. Since President José Eduardo dos Santos put his daughter, Isabel (Africa's first female billionaire), in charge the oil giant's fortunes "are in the toilet". At the company's headquarters, in a custom luxury US $400 million building, in which over-invoicing reached hallucinatory levels, officials are confronted with a stark reality. Apparently, Angola's most important enterprise can't afford to supply its own washrooms.
"Every worker has to bring their own toilet paper from home because Sonangol has been unable to pay its suppliers and we have a toilet paper crisis," one official resignedly told Maka Angola. Staff fear they'll become the butt of jokes. Sonangol has been the primary support for the regime of President José Eduardo dos Santos and the mono-product economy of a state wholly dependent on oil. "It's really hard. FÁBRICA DE LIQUEFACÇÃO DE GÁS EM PALMA: ARRANCOU A ÚLTIMA CONSULTA PÚBLICA. Angola: Diamonds may play stronger role soon. Angola: Pig iron exploration to start this year - minister.
The official was speaking Wednesday at a press conference, adding that the project is at an advanced stage and from next year it will produce 90, 000 tons of iron. " The minister also said that the Mining Cassinga project in southern Huila province will produce about 1,700 tons from 2017. Francisco Queiroz also announced the start for 2018 of Luache mining project in the eastern Lunda Sul province. According to him, the project will allow to double the diamond production of Catoca mining project currently standing at 9 million of carats a year. Francisco Queiroz also said that the diamond sector contribute about 120 million dollar to State coffers a year. As for gold exploration in the country, the minister said it may start from 2018 in Huíla province.
Estimated at over 400 million dollars, Planageo is tasked with identifying the potential for exploitation of mineral resources of the country. Lunda Sul: Luachi mine expects to produce about 350 million carats. Angola LNG resumes gas production in July. Huffingtonpost. Angola’s oil production overtakes Nigeria’s. December 17th, 2015 News Angola overtook Nigeria in November with regard to oil production, according to data provided directly to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The OPEC monthly report for December said that in November Angola produced 1.722 million barrels of oil per day, a monthly drop of 40,000 barrels per day, while Nigeria lowered output by 205,000 barrels per day to 1.607 million barrels per day.
The monthly downturn (November compared to October) registered in daily production in Nigeria was the highest among the OPEC member countries, followed by Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in the cartel, with 90,000 fewer barrels. However, if production is based on secondary sources, the same report also said that in November while Angola produced 1.722 million barrels per day, a monthly increase of 24,400 barrels, Nigeria produced 1.925 million barrels per day, 25,000 fewer barrels than in October. Related News: Angola sees record diamond production in 2015. December 18th, 2015 News Diamond production in Angola this year may reach a record of 9 million carats, an annual increase of 5.6 percent, said Angola’s Minister of Geology and Mines, Francisco Queiroz in Beijing. The minister noted, however, that although the amount would be a record, in terms of value there would be a drop compared to 2014 due to a fall in the price of diamonds on international markets. “In 2014, with 8.5 million carats we earned US$1.3 billion, but this year we should only get US$1.13 billion,” Queiroz projected.
Queiroz said he hoped that the new Luaxe diamond mine, located in northern Angola, could more than double national production and increase the sub-sector’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) from the current 1 percent to 5 percent by 2020. Angola’s Minister for Geology and Mines travelled China at the invitation of China’s Minister for Land and Resources, Jiang Daming. Related News:
Angola signs decade-long oil deal with China | CER. Angola has over 12 billion barrels of oil reserves. June 18th, 2015 News Proven and probable oil reserves in Angola are estimated at 12.667 billion barrels, following recent discoveries in shallow, deep and ultra deep waters, the country’s Oil minister said Tuesday in Hamburg. Speaking at the 7th German-African Energy Forum, which started Monday and finished the next day, Botelho de Vasconcelos said one of the priorities for the 2013/2017 period was to maintain a balance between reserves and production by auctioning blocks and making use of new exploration and production technologies.
Priorities also include the completion of ongoing development projects, including the Kizomba satellites in Block 15, among others. Botelho de Vasconcelos, before an audience of over 150 people, recalled that Angola, when it become independent on 11 November 1975 produced only about 175,000 barrels of oil per day. Related News: Angola could become a mining powerhouse in Africa. April 13th, 2015 News The government of Angola wants the country to become a mining powerhouse in Africa in order to attract more private investments that contribute to the diversification of the economy, said Friday in Luanda the minister of Geology and Mining. Francisco Queiroz, who was speaking during a debate on the impact of investment in the mining sector on the diversification of the Angolan economy, an initiative of the US-Angola Chamber of Commerce (USACC) used Mozambique as an example to support his statement.
“Mozambique is currently on the route of development due to a national geological plan, which although it lacks the size and ambition of our own, has managed to attract very high investments for exploration of aluminium, gas, coal and other mineral resources,” he said. Related News: Mining companies in Angola plan joint promotion abroad. January 19th, 2015 News Angolan mining sector companies plan together to take part this year in major international mining fairs, with the launch this month of the International Promotion Platform for the Angolan Mining Sector (Angola Mining PPI), the Angolan press reported. This opportunity, in the hands of national private company Bumbar Mining, involves setting up a pavilion to promote the brands in the Angolan mining sector at Indaba Mining (South Africa), PDAC (Canada), Mine Africa (Canada and the UK) and Africa Down Under (Australia). “This initiative stems from the need to promote the Angolan mining sector at an international level, with a strategy of cost sharing by multiple entities,” said Sebastião Panzo, Director-General of bumbar Mining.
The first fair, in which the company expects to install a 9 square-metre pavilion, is Mining Indaba, which is due to take place from 9 to 12 February, in Cape Town. Related News: Angola On Track To Set $1 Billion Diamond Export Record. Angola On Track To Set $1 Billion Diamond Export Record. Angola determined to produce 2 million barrels of oil per day. December 9th, 2014 News Angola is determined to achieve production of 2 million barrels of oil per day between 2015 and 2016, announced in Luanda, the director for exploration and production of Angolan state oil company Sonangol. Paulino Jerónimo said the board of directors chaired by Francisco de Lemos had set the production target and that it should be maintained for at least five years. With the recent drop in the price per barrel of oil the oil industry is facing great challenges to optimise development costs and the operations of the various projects, he said, cited by Angolan state newspaper Jornal de Angola.
At the inauguration ceremony of the floating oil production, storage and offloading vessel of French group Total, the chief executive officer, Patrick Pouyanne, said that, despite the unfavourable context and volatility of oil prices in the international market, the group would continue with its planned investment. Related News: Angola to start crude oil shipments to Indonesia next year. The framework agreement also elaborates also on upstream production development. (Image source: A is for Angie/Flickr) Indonesian president Joko Widodo has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African nation. “This MoU between state-owned Pertamina and Sonangol is the first official bilateral agreement of my government,” Jokowi added. The cooperation between the two state-owned companies would involve petroleum production and crude oil shipments.
The framework agreement also elaborates also on upstream production development. Muhammad Husen, president at Pertamina, said that the oil production projects were necessary for Indonesia to uphold sustainable energy. “We are considering a joint venture company with Sonangol related to three groups of businesses — upstream, refining and trade and marketing. “Pertamina is optimistic that in the next five to six years, Indonesia will be a self-sufficient energy producer through this deal,” added Husen. Angola expected to produce 2 million barrels of oil per day in 2017. October 8th, 2014 News The Angolan government’s target to produce 2 million barrels of oil per day has been postponed for a further two years, from 2015 to 2017, according to Angola’s Finance Minister, Armando Manuel, speaking in Washington.
The minister also told financial news agency Bloomberg that the state budget for 2015 had been prepared based on a price per barrel of oil of between US$88 and US$92 and said that Angola had called on the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to implement measures to prevent further price drops. The previous target of 2015 was repeatedly stated by Oil Minister Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, who expected several oil exploration projects going into production, including Italian group ENI in Block 15/06, to increase daily output. The Finance Minister also said that although oil prices are falling, the start of production of new projects could offset that and ensure that the growth of Angola’s economy will not be affected. Related News: Angola’s Sonangol sets plans to extract 3 billion barrels of oil by 2020. May 2nd, 2014 News Angola’s Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola (Sonangol) plans to extract, by 2020, 3 billion barrels of oil and associated gas, the company’s director for exploration and production, Paulino Jerónimo said in Luanda.
At a meeting on natural gas organised by Argentinean company Pluspetrol, Jerónimo said that in order to reach that target by 2020 Sonangol would need the help of all its associated companies, as gas was becoming a source of wealth for many countries. Sonangol has scheduled an auction for 3o May of 10 new exploration blocks of the onshore basins of the Kwanza and Congo Rivers. In January of this year Severino Cardoso, Angola’s Exploration Director, said in Luanda that the 10 blocks accounted for over half the known oil reserves in Angola, or at least 7 billion barrels. Angola is currently the second-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa, after Nigeria, with around 1.7 million barrels per day. Related News: Cobalt makes deepwater presalt discovery offshore Angola.
Angola expected to produce 2 million barrels of oil per day in 2015. Angola may emerge Africa’s top oil producer on Total oil field. Total SA will decide whether to proceed with the Kaombo oil project offshore Angola by mid-2014, the same time as it plans to start pumping from the CLOV fields that may help push the country ahead of Nigeria as Africa’s largest crude producer. The $10 billion CLOV project in Bloc 17 will produce 160,000-barrels-a-day, helping Angola achieve a target of 2 million barrels a day by 2015 and rival Nigeria as the continent’s leading producer. Feasibility studies are under way for the 600-million-barrel Kaombo site in Bloc 32, which is expected to produce 200,000 barrels a day after its scheduled start by mid-2017, Jean-Michel Lavergne, the local unit’s general manager, told reporters Monday in Porto Amboim, Angola, 260 kilometers (162 miles) south of the capital, Luanda.
Lavergne was leading a tour of the first floating production, storage and offloading vessel to be finished in Angola with local labour. “One third of current Angolan oil is produced by Total,” Lavergne said. Angola: Catoca Wants to Be Third World Diamond Exporting Company. Angola is Africa’s third biggest diamond producer. AngolaHub.