The decision adopted by Sonangol signals a recalibration of Angola’s debt strategy and a broader evolution in Chinese financing in the country.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sonangol, Sebastião Gaspar Martins, will travel to China in April 2026 to seek $4.8 billion to finance part of the construction of the Lobito Refinery, according to information obtained by the magazine Economia & Mercado.
Negotiations with Chinese creditors to finance the infrastructure project—linked to crude oil refining—are already at an advanced stage. For that reason, an official delegation from the state oil company, led by the chairman of the board, will travel to Beijing in April.
If the Chinese loan is secured—intended to support what is considered one of the country’s most ambitious projects in the hydrocarbons sector—it will not be backed or guaranteed by resources such as oil, unlike the first financing agreements obtained from China.
As observed, Sonangol’s move to seek $4.8 billion signals a recalibration of Angola’s debt strategy and a broader shift in Chinese financing practices in the country.
Angola reduced its dependence on resource-backed Chinese loans in 2027 during a period of volatility in commodity prices, which had increased debt risks when crude oil prices declined.
The Lobito Refinery is one of the country’s most important projects, as it is expected to increase domestic crude oil processing capacity and make Angola self-sufficient in fuel production.
With a refining capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, the Lobito Refinery will be the largest in Angola, followed by the Luanda Refinery (65,000 barrels per day) and the Cabinda Refinery (60,000 barrels per day). The number of such infrastructures will increase further once the Soyo Refinery, in the province of Zaire Province, is completed, with an estimated production capacity of 100,000 barrels per day.
The first phase of the Lobito Refinery is expected to begin operations in 2027, the same year marking the end of the mandate of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, who took the initiative—although the refinery had been conceived earlier—to strengthen Angola’s midstream oil segment.
The start-up of the first phase of the country’s largest refinery will cost $3.8 billion. The total financing required for the infrastructure is estimated at $6.2 billion, of which Sonangol has already mobilized more than $1.4 billion.
Source: Economia & Mercado
