Gemcorp eyes 30% stake in Angola’s Sonangol

UK private equity firm Gemcorp Capital is interested in acquiring a 30% stake in Angolan NOC Sonangol EP, a Gemcorp executive has told Bloomberg.

The NOC is planning a 30% stake sale, estimating the stake’s value at USD 6.4 billion. Once the plans move forward and the government settles on a sale process, Gemcorp will “have a look,” head of investments Parvoleta Shtereva told Bloomberg late last week.

Gemcorp is already active in Angola’s growing downstream sector, having teamed up with Sonangol to build the 60,000-bpd Cabinda Refinery. An FID of USD 920 million was taken for the project last November.

Shtereva cited Angola’s mature oilfields and relatively high cost-per-barrel of production as factors to consider in the decision, but emphasised that the country’s industrial development will ensure an ongoing need for a secure energy supply.

For more on Sonangol’s plans and strategy, read our latest interview with chairman Sebastião Gaspar Martins.