OREANDA-NEWS. November 09, 2015. The Chairman of Sonangol, Francisco de Lemos Maria, today met  Eni’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, in Rome.

During the meeting, which further strengthened the strategic and operational partnership between the two companies,  they confirmed their commitment to using the gas extracted by Eni in Angola to provide energy for the domestic market and to support the local economy. In the coming months the two companies will undertake the evaluation of development projects of gas fields in the Angolan basin of the Lower Congo. The gas will be used for the generation of electrical energy in the country, potentially 1.5 GW.

In addition, as part of downstream activities Eni will support Sonangol in order to define the Lobito refinery project, which will be developed in the coming months.

These initiatives will benefit from Eni’s wealth of experience and technical expertise in the discovery, development and production of gas resources and from Sonangol’s oversight of the gas value chain and Angolan oil products.

Eni will also provide its own support for the outline of an agricultural project that aims to boost employment and promote diversification of the country’s economy.

"This agreement confirms Eni’s strategy in Sub-Saharan Africa. We are accelerating organic growth in upstream and supporting local communities through projects that provide access to energy, develop downstream facilities and produce economic diversification" said Claudio Descalzi.

Eni has been present in Angola since 1980 with a net production of about 105,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Eni has a 35% stake in the deep waters of block 15/06, where on 30th  November 2014, it began production of the West Hub Development Project, just 4 years after the announcement of its commercial discovery. The block 15/06 also includes the East Hub Development Project, which is under development and will start producing in 2017.