The President of Angola has appointed as the new chairman of the Board of Directors of state oil company Sonangol, the current Secretary of State for Oil, Carlos Saturnino Guerra Sousa Oliveira, according to decrees disclosed on Wednesday in Luanda.

The former chair of the Board of Directors of Sonangol (and daughter of the former President), Isabel dos Santos, who held the office since June 2016, was dismissed, along with other executive and non-executive directors, who were also replaced by presidential decree.

The office of Secretary of State for Oil was given to Paulino Fernando de Carvalho Jerónimo, also according to the decrees signed by President João Lourenço.

Sonangol, established in 1976, is the exclusive concessionaire of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons on the Angolan continental shelf.

Its activities include prospecting, research, development, marketing, production, storage, transport and refining of hydrocarbons and their derivatives and it can work either on its own or in partnership with foreign companies. (macauhub)