Luanda — Angolan president João Lourenço has stressed the strategic importance of Barra do Dande Ocean Terminal (TOBD) and the refineries under construction in the country.
The project will contribute to the export of petroleum derivatives, João Lourenço told the press Monday at the end of a visit to the works of the Barra do Dando Ocean Terminal in northern Bengio province.
During his visit to the project, whose execution stands currently at 63 percent, the Head of State said that the Executive plans to export, preferably refined products and not just crude oil.
"This infrastructure arises, precisely, not only to ensure that there is no shortage of refined products for consumption in the country, but also to have a greater supply of refined products for export", he stated.
President highlighted the importance of completing works on the Barra do Danda Ocean Terminal and the Lobito (Benguela) and Soyo (Zaire) refineries, "as one produces and the other stores".
According to the Head of State, these projects are of great strategic value for the country.
"Today we talk about energy security and to have energy security you need to have a guarantee of energy production, on the one hand, and on the other, have a large fuel storage capacity", he said.
President João Lourenço underlined that "the country happily woke up" and is building refineries.
"It is unthinkable that a country like ours, as the second largest oil producer south of the Sahara, after Nigeria, only had the Luanda refinery as the only refining unit, therefore, at a good time we took the decision to create capacity to refine a good part of the crude that we explore", the president pointed out.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
In addition to the Lobito refinery, João Lourenço said that Cabinda refinery will also appear, whose opening date is scheduled for the end of next year, the same time as the completion of the TOBD works.
As for Soyo refinery, the Head of State said that at any moment the works would start.
"In the Lobito refinery, which we have already resumed, and if we do not have budgetary constraints, what remains to be done is something that will be done in around three years", said João Lourenço, who was pleased with the level of execution of the Barra do Dande Ocean Terminal works.
He assured that there was money for the completion of the TOBD. DC/AL/NIC
