Angola liberalises fuel imports: report

LUANDA, January 24, 2018 – Angola’s Sonangol is to import refined products through a public tender for the first time in its history, international media reported late on Tuesday.

The tender is for a one-time delivery of 1.2 million tonnes of petrol, 2.1 million tonnes of gas oil and 480,000 tonnes of marine fuel, anonymous market sources told Reuters. Angola has previously relied on commodities traders Trafigura and Vitol to import fuels.

“The real market liberalisation is still to come as Sonangol remains the monopoly importer,” one source was quoted as saying.

The news, seen by many as a step towards reform at Sonangol and in Angola’s oil industry, came a day after a corruption trial centred on the NOC’s former head, former Angolan Vice-President Manuel Vicente, started in Portugal in his absence.

Read our latest insights on: