Project Profile
Location: Lobito, Angola
Value: US$10 billion (initial investment)
Area: 1.5 square-km
Capacity: 120,000 bpd in Phase 1; increased to 200,000 bpd in Phase 2
Start-up Year: 2022
The planned 200,000 bpd refinery, known as Sonaref, will process heavy crude from Kuito and Dalia fields. It will be built in two phases – the first comprising low-conversion units aimed at satisfying local demand, and the second upgrading the plant’s complexity to produce higher-quality fuels suitable for export. Sonaref will process 120,000 bpd in phase one, which is due to start up in 2022. Phase two will increase the capacity to 200,000 bpd. It will depend on the port of Lobito and the Benguela railway, most of which has yet to be reconstructed, for export.
When operations have commenced, the refinery will process crude into: premium gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, kerosene and LPG.
Lengthy process to develop has seen start-stop developments, withdrawal of Chinese backers in early stages, but more efforts to bring in other interested parties. President of Sonangol Board of Directors Carlos Saturnino said June 2018 that the construction programme is moving ahead at high speed. A new US$220million contract was signed with ENI for maintenance. Sixty-three proposals for implementation of phase 2 were reviewed and seven of the best were selected and
submitted at the end of March 2018. Shareholders in the consortium owning the Lobito refinery would thereafter be selected, said Saturnino. Latest reports indicate the shareholding consortium members would be identified around end-August 2018.
Proposed units: Atmospheric Distillation, Vacuum Distillation, FCC, Hydrocracker, Diesel Hydrotreating (DHT), Kerosene Hydrotreating (KHT).
Operators:
Sonangol: Operator with 100% interest
Contractors:
KBR: FEED contract
Standard Chartered Bank: Financial consultancy
Engineers India Ltd: Contract for FEED validation and review of basic engineering and design
Timeline:
1998 – Lobito refinery proposed
2005 – Sonangol-Sinopec International (SSI) announces plans for refinery
2007 – Sinopec pulls out and project pronounced dead
2008 – Sonangol contracts KBR to carry out FEED work
2009 – KBR wins unit licence contracts
2010 – KBR completes FEED
2011 – Oil Minister says first phase of Sonaref will process 120,000 bpd
2013 – Standard Chartered Bank chosen for financial consulting
2014 – Sonangol and China Development Bank sign financing agreement
2015 – EIL awarded contract for FEED validation and review of basic engineering and design
2017 – Proposals sought from potential investors
2018 – 63 proposals received from local and international firms