Angola’s state oil company Sonangol remains an operationally stable and robust company, and its strength extends to the commercial and financial segment, said Tuesday in Luanda the chairman of the Board of Directors.

Francisco de Lemos was commenting on information reported in the media and social networks, according to which the Angolan oil company is “technically bankrupt” and in crisis.

Despite this, he said that due to the fall in international oil sector revenues a cost containment plan was underway in the state company of up to US$1 billion this year.

The chairman of the Angolan state company stressed that the company’s stability was guaranteed by the fact that debt, amounting to US$13.7 billion, to be covered by net assets (equity) amounting to US$21.9 billion.

Cited by Angolan news agency Angop, de Lemos said the company has sufficient working capital to meet its immediate and short-term obligations, which is why, after six months of operation (January to June this year), it had yet to resort to foreign credit, even with the price per barrel of oil much lower compared to 2014.

As for the oil company’s presence abroad, Francisco de Lemos gave assurances that the activities of subsidiaries Sonusa in Houston, USA, Sonangol Ltd, in London, United Kingdom and Sonasia in Singapore, were running smoothly.

The chairman of Sonangol also said the company was keeping its programme of planned investments for 2015, estimated at US$6.7 billion. (macauhub/AO)