In a bid to increase Sonangols’ share in Angola’s oil production from 2% to 10%, the company will ramp up oil production from its current 27 000 barrels per day (bpd) to 125 000 bpd by 2027.
The announcement was made last week, after the company declared its plan to sell 30% of its non-core assets to improve efficiency and focus its efforts on oil and gas production, in line with the extensive reforms President João Lourenço has been implementing to boost the oil sector.
The process whereby the company plans to sell 11 non-strategic assets will start in April. In total, Sonangol is expected to alienate 72 assets during the restructuring process.
The company has already started to sell-off real estate it owns in Portugal, with Quinta do Lazareto, an estate in the south bank of the Tagus river, near Lisbon, having already been sold for €13 million, 45% above the company’s initial expectations.
Most of Sonangol’s oil production comes from non-operating shares in producing fields managed by third-party companies. The company now aims to have a more active role as a de facto oil and gas operator.
In late January, Sonangol started to alienate seven different companies it owns operating in the tourism and travel sectors in Portugal, Angola, the U.S. and France. These include Atlântida Viagens e Turismo Lisboa, Atlântida Viagens Luanda, WTA International, WTA Travel Agency Luanda, WTA Paris, WTA/Houston Express and ITSS International Travel Services and Systems.
According to the company’s most recent statements, at least Atlântida Viagens Luanda and Atlântida Viagens e Turismo Lisboa, two travel agencies owned by the Atlântida group, a subsidiary of Sonangol, have already received biddings that are now under evaluation.
Sonaid, a drilling support company; Hotel Maianga in Luanda; Sonasurf Internacional and Sonasurf Angola and Founton are expected to be sold soon.
