Luanda - The minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino de Azevedo, said this Thursday, in Luanda, that Angola only produces 20 percent of its daily consumption needs for crude oil by-products.
Minister Azevedo made this statement in the National Assembly, during the discussion of the Legislative Authorization Bill for the President of the Republic, as the head of government.
The bill, unanimously approved by the MPs, authorizes the Head of State to legislate on the Administrative and fiscal Incentives for the construction of the Cabinda refinery.
During the debate to approve this legal instrument, MPs were informed that the remainder of oil products used in the country is imported.
According to the minister, this import entails a large expenditure of foreign exchange that could be used in public investments and other expenses.
As an example, he explained that in 2019 Angola imported almost three million tonnes of refined products, having spent more than one billion US dollars.
New refining strategy
Minister Azevedo also said that to reverse this trend, the government has defined a refining strategy that includes the construction of the refineries in the provinces of Cabinda, Benguela and Zaire, as well as the modernization and optimization of the Luanda refinery.
To him, Cabinda project aims at the construction and operation of a refinery with the capacity to convert 60,000 barrels of oil/day, in the Municipality of Malembo, with an initial investment of USD 650 million.