Speaking at the Angola Oil & Gas conference in Luanda, he stated that “nobody puts a barrel of crude oil into anything to go anywhere. Mines do not run on crude oil; they run on diesel. If you are importing five to six billion dollars a year in diesel, you are giving away economic value.”

The urgency behind that target is visible in the latest figures. Sonangol Director of Planning and Management Control Edson Pongolola said the country imported approximately 1.8 million tons of refined products in the first half of 2026 at a cost of roughly $1.96 billion. “If we continue depending on imports, it will cost us,” he said.

The buildout spans four facilities. The Luanda refinery operates at 65,000 bpd. The Cabinda refinery, inaugurated in September 2025, processes 30,000 bpd of crude into diesel, jet fuel, naphtha and heavy fuel oil, with a second phase to double capacity and add gasoline in its final stages. The Lobito refinery, at 200,000 bpd, was roughly 28% complete in early 2026. A 100,000 bpd facility is also planned for Soyo.

Sonangol Refinaria CEO Joaquim Kiteculo said the projects are part of a larger value chain prioritizing energy security. “We are not building independent refineries; we are building an integrated refining system in Angola,” he said. “Each one of our refineries has a strategic role in this integrated system.” Sonangol, which is celebrating 50 years of operations in 2026, manages refining, storage and distribution assets across the national network, with the Barra do Dande Ocean Terminal part of a broader logistics master plan.

Sancorp CEO Efe Tunde said his firm, backed by Middle Eastern institutional and African equity capital, is looking to support the Lobito corridor. “Dangote refinery in Nigeria has demonstrated foreign investor appetite at scale,” he said. “We here, starting in Angola with the Lobito corridor, can piggyback off that confidence.”