Lobito - Namibian deputy minister of Mines and Energy Kornelia Shilunga Tuesday in Lobito, coastal Benguela province, learnt of the potential of oil companies Sonaref (Refinery), Sonamet and Angoflex.
The State Secretary for Oil and Gas, José Alexandre Barroso, said the visit follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Angola and Namibia in the sector.
According to him, the main objective of the visit is the exchange of experiences between the two countries, since Angola has been a producer of oil and gas for many years and Namibia has recently made the discovery of this product on its territory.
"We are responding to Namibia's call to use the experience gained over the years in research and production in the petroleum sector, for joint work, which will allow interaction not only at the level of our governments, but also public and private institutions for a strong oil industry,” said the Angolan Secretary of State.
The Lobito refinery has a planned production capacity of 200,000 barrels/day and will employ approximately 8,000 workers.
As for Sonamet, producer of metal structures, the Namibian delegation, in addition to the shipyard, visited the “Paulo Teixeira Jorge” training school, where it received detailed information on the various activities of the factory.
This trip trains specialists in welding, boilermaking, quality and control, environment, safety and hygiene at work.
The delegation also visited Angoflex, where they received information on the manufacturing process, storage and delivery of the umbilicals.
Angoflex is the only factory in Angola and Africa specializing in umbilicals. For the moment, it is stopped for lack of projects.
From 2003 to date, Angoflex has completed around 24 projects for clients such as Total, British Petroleum (BP) and ENI. The only export made by the company was the Mirakes project, at the end of 2020, sent to Malaysia.
The Minister Kornelia Shilunga was accompanied by the Namibian Ambassador to Angola, Patrick Nandogo and some senior technicians from his Ministry.
On the Angolan side, there were the Secretary of State for Oil and Gas, José Alexandre Barroso, and the Vice-Governor of Benguela for the Technical Area and Infrastructure, Adilson Gonçalves, representing the Provincial Governor of Benguela, Luís Nunes. TC/CRB/TED/NIC
