Sonangol and oil operators meet with Angolan President

State-owned Sonangol and oil operators met with the President of Angola, João Lourenço, in early October, following a statement issued by the operators identifying several concerns related to their investment strategies and operations in Angola, which are seen as relevant to the continued development of the oil sector in the country.

In their statement, the oil operators identified the excess of bureaucracy in the sector as being unfavourable to the overall development of the industry. In an earlier bid to address some of the concerns raised, the statutes of Sonangol have recently been revised, with a hierarchical level eliminated in the approval pyramid, making the whole process of analysis much faster, including approvals of the operators’ development proposals. Other critical areas for improvement are being addressed, including the management of the concessionaire; the review of old approval processes that have long existed within the company; and the replacement of the ex-CEO who oversaw the concessionaire's management and the relationship with its operators.