Luanda 11/6/08 – Angola’s oil company (Sonangol) and the US firm Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), Wednesday in Luanda, signed an accord that awards the latter the right to design the Lobito refinery – Sonaref Project.
The information was supplied to the press by Sonaref Project director, Nelson Santana, who added that the accord also entitles KBR to license the companies that will build the Lobito refinery, estimated at about Usd 6.4 billion.
According to Nelso Santana, KRB is just a company hired by Sonangol to design the refinery, not a partner in the expenses of the undertaking.
"Sonaref Project is a Sonangol’s alone" , said Nelson Santana to the press.
The construction of Sonaref could last four years and the project is expected to have a daily output of 200,000 barrels of crude oil with high acidity content that will be transformed into derivatives mainly for the local market.
"The refinery will have high quality products tradable in the most demanding markets of the world,” said the source after the signing of the deal.
He said as well that the crude oil that will be used in the refinery is local and normally traded in the world market at low rate.
Nelso Santana also said that until the completion of the Project, more than 5,000 people, among locals and foreigners, might get jobs.
The refinery that will be built eight kilometres of Lobito city, central Benguela province, will bring about benefits to the local population and abide by World Bank environmental requirements.