Angola: 200,000 bpd Lobito Refinery Progresses With 23% Of Work Completed

Angolan President João Lourenço on Tuesday paid a working visit to the 200,000-barrels-per-day Lobito Petroleum Refinery, reaffirming his personal commitment to strengthening the country’s energy security.

The President was accompanied by the Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, and other government officials.

The Lobito Refinery, a strategic Sonangol project, is being developed in two phases.

The first phase is scheduled for completion in 2027, while the second phase is expected to be fully completed in 2029.

So far, more than US$1.4 billion of the initial US$8 billion capital investment has been spent on the project, with overall work progress estimated at about 23 per cent.

Upon completion, the refinery will produce diesel, gasoline, aviation fuel, as well as gas for energy self-consumption and sulphur for industrial use, ensuring efficiency, quality and environmental sustainability.

Welcoming the President to the project site, Benguela Governor Manuel Nunes Júnior described the visit as a “political gesture of great importance” that honours the province and strengthens the “sense of national belonging.”

He described the refinery as an “investment of historic dimension” that will create opportunities for young people, increase household incomes and boost local entrepreneurship.

In his remarks, Minister Diamantino Azevedo stressed that the refinery forms part of a medium- and long-term strategic vision for Angola’s oil sector aimed at achieving energy autonomy.