London, UK |
— Angolan President Joao Lourenco fired Sonangol EP Chairman Carlos Saturnino
as he revamps the company amid persistent fuel shortages in the southern
African nation.
The presidency appointed Gaspar Martins to lead the state-owned company with a
new board after incumbent members were dismissed, according to a statement late
Wednesday. Lourenco met with oil industry officials on Tuesday, vowing to end
shortages at gas stations across the country that imports almost all of its
fuel.
Lourenco appointed Saturnino chairman in 2017 and fired Isabel dos Santos after
he replaced her father, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, as president. Sonangol, long
the main engine of Angola’s oil-focused economy, has been at the center of the
leader’s vow to fight corruption. He also plans to revive crude output, which
has dropped to the lowest level in more than a decade following years of
under-investment in new projects.
The firings appear to be driven by the fuel shortage, one of the worst in
Angola’s history, according to Salih Yilmaz, an analyst at Bloomberg
Intelligence. “Reforms and the reorganization of the company look like steps in
the right direction, though the outlook for the country’s output profile
remains dim,” he said.
Sonangol said last week that a lack of foreign currency reserves needed to
import fuel was the main reason for the shortages in the country. The
presidency blamed insufficient communication between the company and other
state institutions for the supply crunch.
Oil
Reforms
The government of Africa’s second-biggest producer has taken measures to boost
oil activity, including tax concessions to companies developing smaller fields.
As part of the reforms, it has transferred the role of concessionaire of crude
and gas blocks from Sonangol to the new National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and
Biofuels. Sonangol is also selling companies and assets outside its core
business to focus on oil.
Angola’s output dropped below 1.4 MMbopd in April from almost 1.9 MMbpd as
recently as 2015, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Production could
fall to 1 MMbpd by 2023 without more projects, Yilmaz said. French major Total
SA and Italy’s Eni SpA have started pumping from new areas in the past year.
The last few years have been dramatic for Saturnino. He was fired from Sonangol
in 2016 by Isabel dos Santos, and was brought back by Lourenco to replace her.
Angola is on the brink of a “blackout due to the lack of fuel,” dos Santos
tweeted on Tuesday.
Martins has served on the board of Sonangol and in various other roles,
according to the company’s website.
Bloomberg.