Patricia LOPES
Country General Manager
MECWIDE ANGOLA

EPC solutions for new Angolan oil and gas projects

Angola

Patricia Lopes, country manager of Mecwide Angola, talks to The Energy Year about how the company’s footprint in the Angolan oil and gas sector is evolving, its role in the Falcão project and how it is helping develop renewable energy in Angola. Mecwide provides metalworking EPC solutions for the energy industry.

How is Mecwide Angola’s footprint in the oil and gas sector evolving?
At the end of 2022, we were awarded a very interesting contract for Azule Energy. We will be in charge of project management and supervision services for the Agogo West Hub Integrated Project. The project, which is located on the West Hub of Block 15/06, involves 36 new wells producing via a 120,000-bopd FPSO vessel that aims to start production in early 2026.
This contract is for USD 12 million and spans three years. To execute this project, we have entered into a partnership with Progeco NeXT, an Italian international technical assistance company that typically works with the oil and gas industry.
This project has an out-of-country scope and an in-country scope because it involves fabrication worldwide. Our partner takes care of the out-of-country scope, and Mecwide handles the in-country scope, including expat and national employees. Due to the growth of the oil and gas projects in-country, we see many current opportunities in the market for the technical assistance sector.
We have also been awarded a maintenance contract by an oil and gas logistics and supplies company, which has a logistics base in Luanda, at the end of last year. We’ve had other smaller opportunities in piping and welding.

What is the role of Mecwide Angola in the Falcão project?
Falcão 2 is a strategic project for the country. Mecwide Angola is the main contractor executing the full EPC works for this treatment plant, which will receive gas coming from offshore through Angola LNG. It will then be treated and distributed to the Soyo combined-cycle power plant.
But that’s not it: this project is connected to the global strategy of building infrastructure to develop industry. This project will allow Angola and the region of Soyo in particular to create a hub of companies (including developments in fertilisers, for example) that can develop their activity in a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner. These companies will receive gas treated in the plant we are currently finishing.

How is Mecwide assisting Angola in its path to developing renewable energies?
Angola, historically reliant on oil for its energy needs, is recognising the imperative shift towards renewable energies. This transition is not only about embracing a new technology; it’s a path to socioeconomic transformation through empowering communities and fostering economic growth.
The country’s vast potential for solar power generation positions it favourably in the pursuit of sustainable energy solutions. Developments in solar energy infrastructure in Angola have been growing. In 2021-2022, we were involved in the largest public project for solar energy in Sub-Saharan Africa at the time. This was MCA’s Solar 1 project, which developed two solar parks in the province of Benguela. Mecwide’s scope of work covered the full mechanical assembly of the solar panels.
We see several opportunities in the pipeline. Various projects, from small-scale solar installations to financed large utility-scale solar farms have been initiated. Given our in-country expertise for these types of projects, we hope to participate in a few of them. We are quite confident in the future of renewables in Angola.

What are your perspectives on the attractiveness of the Angolan oil and gas sector for Mecwide?
Angola is a country with political stability, large identified reserves and an incorporated legal/fiscal framework to promote development in mature and marginal fields. Moreover, Angola has developed the necessary infrastructure to support offshore oil and gas operations and managed to attract a pretty reasonable level of technology to deal with exploration and production.
Nevertheless, the oil price is a key factor for investment. Angola is a deep-water country, meaning that the cost of oil is higher than in other places, so if the price drops, investment retracts significantly. For a few years now, the oil price has been quite stable and at a good level, so what we see today is a promising industry with several projects and opportunities in the pipeline.
I believe that Mecwide will play a role in some of these opportunities, be they technical assistance projects, EPC construction projects or maintenance projects.

How important will your new Viana yard be in your strategy to harness new opportunities in Angola?
We made a significant investment in 2023 to establish our new Viana yard. This milestone is a reflection of our commitment to the country and to our clients, and it is also a step forward in our sustainable growth.
With this unit, Mecwide will have a greater capacity to respond to customers’ demands for piping prefabrication and the manufacture of steel structures, process equipment and customised and compact systems of metalworking construction (SKIDS) for a wide range of industries.
Located in Viana, with access via the Via Expresso and Luanda-Catete Road, the unit has a fabrication area with lifting and processing equipment, a complete guest house, a canteen, a welding school and a training/induction room to cope with the different types of requests from different clients.
This new manufacturing plant will therefore allow Mecwide to support our clients’ projects in a more competitive manner, particularly in the industrial, oil and gas and renewable sectors.

What are some of the most strategic projects that Mecwide is involved in globally?
Outside of Angola, Mecwide managed to secure some very interesting and strategic projects. One of them is called Project Beluga in Norway, which we’ll work on together with CTS Nordics, for the company Green Mountain. This project includes the construction of a data centre for the popular social media platform TikTok and is valued at USD 75 million. The project is expected to be completed within two years.
As part of our responsibilities, Mecwide will be in charge of procuring the majority of the materials and equipment needed for the project, as well as assembling the data centre. This marks a significant milestone for the company; with this project, Mecwide is positioning itself as a strategic and capable construction partner on an international scale. This achievement demonstrates the company’s ability to take on complex and high-value projects and further solidifies its reputation in the construction sector.
The group has also secured another project called GZO 4.0 [Green Zinc Odda 4.0] in Norway. It’s for a smelter zinc plant, which will be the most climate-effective smelting plant in the world.
This USD 40-million project is strategic for us not only because it’s a large project but also because it has this green footprint. Basically, we will be responsible for the procurement of all the equipment – piping, metallic structures, equipment, valves and so on – and we will also do the assembling.
These two projects are different, but both are in strategic sectors where Mecwide intends to develop sustainable business.

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