Sonangol Begins Selling Assets in Firms

Angola’s state oil company, Sonangol, has opened a public tender to sell its stakes in some private firms as part of the government’s bid to privatize critical state assets, including parts of Sonangol itself by 2022.

According to Angola’s minister of Mineral Resources and Petroleum, Diamantino Azevedo, the company needs to sell some assets before a 30% share sale in 2022.

Among the stakes the company is shedding off include:

• 30% of its stake in Petromar, Sonadiets Ltd and Sonadiets Services
• 33.3% stake in SBM Shipyard
• 40% in Sonamet Industrial and Sonacergy Services and Construction Petroleum Ltd
• 51% in Sonatide Marine and Sonatide Marine Angola Limited

Furthermore, as Reuters reports, Angola will release either full or part ownership of 81 companies this year through public tender. Of these, six will be by auctioned and three sold through Initial Public Offers, with 12 set to be privatized in 2021 and four in 2022.

The company reiterates that interested parties must submit their applications by 30th May 2020, with applications for Sonatide Marine Ltd, Sonatide Marine Angola Ltd, Sonadiets Ltd, and Sonadiets Services due on 15th May 2020.

Sonangol is a parastatal overseeing petroleum and natural gas production in Angola. The group consists of Sonangol E.P. and its subsidiaries. The subsidiaries generally have Sonangol E.P. as a primary client, along with other corporate, commercial, and individual clients.

Angola is estimated to have over 5 billion barrels of offshore and coastal petroleum reserves, and new discoveries are outpacing consumption by a 5 to 1 ratio.

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