Angolan President João Lourenço has inaugurated a $4 billion gas processing plant in Soyo, a major milestone in the country’s strategy to diversify its energy sector beyond crude oil.
Angolan President João Lourenço has inaugurated a $4 billion gas processing plant in Soyo, a major milestone in the country’s strategy to diversify its energy sector beyond crude oil.
The project positions Angola to become a stronger player in Africa’s natural gas and LNG market.
The facility, developed by the Novo Consórcio de Gás (NCG), is capable of processing 400 million cubic feet of gas per day from Angola’s first standalone gas fields, Minerals and Petroleum Minister Diamantino Azevedo said at the launch.
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The plant was completed several months ahead of schedule. NCG’s partners include Azule Energy, Sonangol E&P, Chevron Corp., and TotalEnergies SE, all major players in Angola’s upstream energy sector, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Push to reduce dependence on crude oil
With operations now underway, the Soyo gas plant will supply natural gas for domestic power generation, local industries, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, strengthening Angola’s long-term energy security.
Azevedo said the country is focused on using gas to support electricity generation, petrochemicals, ammonia, and urea production, part of a wider plan to industrialise the economy and reduce dependence on crude exports.
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The project will make an important contribution to energy security and to Angola’s industrialisation capacity. “This is only the beginning,” Azevedo said. “We will continue developing additional gas resources offshore and onshore.”
The development also comes at a time when the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has identified Angola as one of Africa’s emerging hubs in the continent’s ongoing energy transition.
