Angola to form national petroleum agency

The Angolan oil minister has said the country will create a national petroleum agency, local media reported over the weekend.

Minister of Mineral Resources and Petroleum Diamantino Azevedo announced a working group would be established to oversee the creation of the institution. Speaking at the presentation session of the new board of directors of Sonangol on Thursday, he said the new agency would allow the NOC to focus on its core business.

Carlos Saturnino was appointed last week to replace Isabel dos Santos, daughter of former President José Eduardo dos Santos, as head of Sonangol. Saturnino said he had instructions from President João Lourenço to “rethink the oil and gas business in Angola, rethink the Sonangol Group and redesign the most important parts of the oil industry in Angola.”

The new board members are Sebastião Pai Querido Gaspar Martins, executive administrator; Luís Ferreira do Nascimento José Maria, executive administrator; Carlos Eduardo Ferraz de Carvalho Pinto, executive administrator; Rosário Fernando Isaac, executive administrator; Baltazar Agostinho Gonçalves Miguel, executive administrator; Alice Marisa Leão Sopas Pinto da Cruz, executive administrator; José Gime-Administrador, non-executive administrator; and André Lelo, non-executive administrator.