Sonangol nearly $5 bln in debt

Sonangol head Carlos Saturnino said Wednesday that the Angolan NOC’s debt was USD 4.9 billion.

Speaking at the firm’s annual press conference, Saturnino added that the government had injected USD 10 billion into the company, half of which would be used to settle its debts and the remainder for investments. 

Saturnino said the preliminary results of an audit showed that USD 135 million had gone to consulting firms between May 2016 and November 2017, when Isabel dos Santos, daughter of then-President José Eduardo dos Santos, was running Sonangol. The audit of the NOC began in December 2017 and has not been completed.

Saturnino also reported that the NOC’s production would remain steady in 2018 at about 1.6 million bopd. The company’s output was 1.63 million bopd in 2017, down from 1.72 million bopd in 2016, due mainly to OPEC production cuts. Profits increased to USD 224 million in 2017 from USD 81 million in 2016.