The proposals for the construction of refineries in Angola that have been excluded from the public tender process were not in line with the objectives of the Angolan government, oil and natural resources minister Diamantino Azevedo said on Tuesday during a visit to the Luanda refinery.

In a statement released on 1 February in Luanda, Angolan state oil company Sonangol said the Angolan government had set up a commission to analyse the technical, economic and financial proposals for the construction of refineries in the country and had received 63 proposals from the both domestic and foreign companies.

On 19 February, Sonangol chairman Carlos Saturnino, accompanying President João Lourenço on a visit to the facilities to support the construction of the future Lobito refinery, whose works have been at a standstill since 2016 due to the economic crisis, said that the group working on this issue should complete the analysis of the 23 proposals received by the end of the month and then submit a report to the government.

The Luanda Refinery, located in the northern part of the country’s capital, occupies an area of 170 hectares, plans to increase gasoline production from 380 to 1,200 tons per day this year, according to the Angop news agency. (macauhub)