Barra do Dande: a transformational terminal in Angola

Angola

Mauro Graça, CEO of Sonangol Distribuição e Comercialização, talks to The Energy Year about the significance of the Barra do Dande Oceanic Terminal (TOBD) for Sonangol and Angola and the company’s evolving retail strategy. Sonangol Distribuição e Comercialização is a subsidiary of Sonangol devoted to the distribution and marketing of downstream products.

This interview is featured in The Energy Year Angola 2025

What is the significance of the TOBD for Sonangol and Angola as a whole?
The completion of the Barra do Dande Oceanic Terminal represents a milestone for Angola’s energy infrastructure and for Sonangol’s long-term strategy. This project has been a journey spanning more than a decade. It began in 2012 under a different strategic outlook and scale but was suspended in 2016 due to a range of challenges.
Despite those interruptions, we always understood – as a company and as a nation – that the terminal needed to be completed. Even with eight storage terminals operating along the Angolan coast, we continued to rely on floating storage to compensate for limited capacity. That approach was expensive and inefficient and exposed us to unnecessary safety risks.
For those reasons, in 2019, Sonangol, following governmental guidance, decided to resume and complete the project. One of our first decisions as part of achieving that was to revisit and redesign the project – making it more cost-effective, time-efficient and aligned with current national and regional needs. Following this redefinition stage, where the project concept and base engineering were completed, in 2020, we signed the EPC contract with OEC Angola as the main project contractor and construction resumed that December.
Today, TOBD, as an asset 100% owned by Sonangol, is being positioned as Angola’s primary storage and distribution hub. Our strategy is for all imported products to arrive through TOBD and be distributed nationwide – by both land and sea.
Until local refining capacity is expanded, imports will remain an essential component of our supply chain and TOBD will play a major role in that, allowing us to centralise logistics, improve operational efficiency and, importantly, comply with Angola’s legal requirement to maintain strategic fuel reserves – something that was previously challenging due to lack of infrastructure.
Beyond our borders, TOBD also strengthens regional energy resilience. Many neighbouring countries still lack adequate storage capacity. Our vision is for TOBD to serve as a regional hub, where international trading companies can store and distribute products to those markets. This positions Angola not only to safeguard its own energy security but also to emerge as a key regional player in fuel storage and distribution.
Confirming this vision is the fact that some of these international companies are already exploring partnerships with Sonangol to develop dedicated storage facilities within TOBD, taking advantage of the existing infrastructure.

Have any regional or international partnerships been secured for TOBD’s use as a storage hub?
While we do not yet have direct intergovernmental agreements, we are working closely with several major international trading companies. At the terminal’s inauguration, we signed MoUs with eight leading global players, including Chevron, BP, Trafigura and Vitol. These companies act as key intermediaries, supplying numerous regional markets. Through them, we can indirectly support countries that still lack their own storage infrastructure.
Some of these MoUs are now progressing toward formal storage contracts. So even though government-to-government storage deals are not yet in place, the partnerships we are building with these trading firms will be central to TOBD’s regional strategy going forward.

What products will be stored at TOBD in its initial phase?
In its first phase, with 16 tanks that represent a total storage capacity of 582,000 cubic metres, TOBD will store three core products: gasoline, gasoil and LPG. Jet fuel will not be included at this stage, once all jet fuel consumed in Angola is produced at the Luanda Refinery, which already has sufficient capacity and is directly connected to the Quatro de Fevereiro Luanda International Airport via pipeline. We are also developing a new line that will divert from that line and take this product directly to the Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport.
TOBD was developed as an expandable project. In later phases, we plan to increase TOBD’s storage capacity by completing the remaining 13 tanks already on site – erected but not connected – that can be quickly integrated. This phase will likely add marine gas oil and fuel oil, allowing us to position TOBD for the bunkering market in the region. The site still offers ample room for expansion, and it will be possible to have more product diversity in more advanced phases, always depending on market demand and potential partnerships.

Is there a timeline for launching phase two?
We don’t have a fixed timeline yet for phase two, but the need is immediate, especially in terms of launching the bunkering business. According to discussions we are having with some potential partners, we believe it should not take much time to implement. The infrastructure for phase two is largely in place; it’s just a matter of defining the right strategy and aligning it with market interest. It’s a work in progress and shall be implemented when we find the optimum ratio between market demand and economic feasibility.

How is Sonangol evolving its downstream strategy over the next five years?
Sonangol operates Angola’s largest downstream and retail network, with around 400 service stations nationwide – some directly managed by us, others operated by partners under the Sonangol brand. Over the next five years, our focus will be on deep modernisation, operational excellence and sustainable growth across all areas of the downstream value chain.
A key component of this plan is the modernisation and automation of our six existing storage facilities, in addition to the new Barra do Dande Oceanic Terminal. These terminals, strategically located along Angola’s coastline, play a critical role in guaranteeing national energy security. We are investing to transform them into fully digitalised, automated facilities equipped with advanced safety, monitoring and control systems.
This modernisation drive will make our operations safer, more efficient, and better managed, while significantly enhancing our environmental and safety performance and creating opportunities to provide storage services in line with TOBD capabilities.
We are also strengthening our position in the aviation bunkering segment. With the recent opening of the new Luanda International Airport, where Sonangol is responsible for managing the aeroinstallation, our ambition is to attract more international carriers to refuel in Angola and to position the country as a regional aviation fuelling hub. This strategy is fully aligned with the growth of our national refining capacity – enabling Sonangol to supply high-quality jet fuel produced domestically, creating a strong synergy between refining, logistics and aviation.
Another strategic focus is the revitalisation of our lubricants business. Sonangol owns the only lubricants production plant in Angola (IMUL), and we recently increased its production capacity to 84,000 tonnes per year. Our ambition is clear: to make our NGOL product line the most trusted and best-selling brand in Angola while building a strong regional presence. We are expanding our local distribution channels, enhancing product quality and aligning our brand positioning with the values of quality, reliability, innovation and national pride.
In parallel, we have launched an ambitious requalification programme for our entire service station network. This initiative began this year with the renewal of 27 stations, primarily in Luanda, and will continue over the next few years to cover most of our high-demand areas within the entire national network. The goal is to deliver modern, customer-centric service stations offering reliable, high-quality products; better-stocked stores; and a broader range of services.
This transformation is closely linked to the development of our non-oil business, another key focus area. We want our stations to evolve into true convenience centres – not just refuelling points, but multifunctional service hubs where customers can find a variety of solutions to support their everyday lives, such as restaurants, pharmacies, ATM centres, car services and much more.
It’s important to mention that, as part of the initiative, we are integrating photovoltaic energy systems and electric vehicle charging stations into our pump stations network, as tangible proof of Sonangol’s commitment to green energy and environmental sustainability. This combination of modernisation, innovation and sustainability will define the next chapter of Sonangol’s downstream transformation.

Is the company considering regional expansion of its retail footprint?
Yes, regional expansion is part of our long-term vision. While we still see room to strengthen our network within Angola – especially because we have additional provinces in-country where we still need to reinforce our presence – we are also studying opportunities in neighbouring markets.
The Sonangol brand carries strong recognition, and extending it into regional markets through physical assets such as service stations is something we are evaluating seriously as well as Sonangol products (fuel and lubricants) trading. It would represent a significant milestone in increasing our visibility and impact beyond Angola.

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