Group Sonangol (Portuguese:Grupo Sonangol) is aparastatal that formerly oversawpetroleum andnatural gas production inAngola.[1] The group consisted ofSonangol E.P. (Portuguese:Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola, E.P.) and its manysubsidiaries. The subsidiaries generally had Sonangol E.P. as a primary client, along with other corporate, commercial, and individual clients. In 2023, Sonangol produced 202,000barrels of oil with an income ofUS$ 10.9 billion.[2]
Oil giantMarathon Oil announced in September 2013 that it had agreed a deal in principle to sell a 10% stake in its offshore Angolan oilfield to Sonangol.[5]
In December 2013, Sonangol acquired theexploration rights to five onshore oil blocks inAngola, which could be tendered for development at a later date.[6]
According to the judgement of a Swiss court in 2020, Didier Kelley paid key Sonangol officials a total of US$ 6.8 million inbribes between 2005 and 2008 whileCEO ofSBM Offshore. Kelley was fined over US$ half a million.[7] At the time the bribery took place, thechairman of the board of directors of Sonangol wasManuel Vicente, who was alsoVice President of Angola underPresidentJosé Eduardo dos Santos. Though Vicente was not accused of accepting these bribes directly, in the opinion of the Swiss authorities, he would have been aware of them.[8]
Starting in 2006, Sonangol financed the construction of theCentro de Convenções de Talatona (CCTA), aconvention center which was opened in December 2009 by President dos Santos. The CCTA included thefive-star[9]Hotel de Convenções de Talatona (HCTA), and in total cost Sonangol over US$ 200 million. Despite being the sole financier, Sonangol only held a 30% stake in the CCTA, which was majority held by Simaroco and also partially by Oil International Supply Services S.A. (OISS) and aChinese investor. Simaroco was founded in 2005 by José Carlos de Castro Paiva, thenchairman ofSonangol Limited and Sonangol's representative on theboard of directors of theBanco Africano de Investimentos. OISS was owned in part by Alberto Cardoso Severino Pereira, Sonangol's formerfinancial director, andlawyer Domingos de Assunção de Sousa de Lima Viegas, who was also employed by Sonangol and was Sonangol’s representative on theauditing committee of the BAI. In effect, this transferred millions of dollars' worth ofassets held by a state entity into private hands.[10][11]
A ten-year, a US$ 12 millioncontract formanagement of the HCTA was then awarded to Dream's Leisure, a company created thirteen days prior to the issuing of the contract, which was owned byManuel Vicente, thenchairman of the board of directors of Sonangol; Francisco Maria de Lemos, financial director of Sonangol; and Orlando Veloso, director of the engineering department. The terms of this contract stipulated that Sonangol would compensate Dream's Leisure for any net losses incurred through management of thehotel. Furthermore, the contract forbade Sonangol to transfer any third-party rights without approval from Dream's Leisure. In the opinion of Rui Verde, a lawyer and legal expert ofanti-corruptionwatchdogMaka Angola, "the contract clearly encourages Dream's Leisure to inflate costs and declare losses, in order to plunder the State as much as possible."[9][11]
Ownership chart showing relationship between Sonangol, Dokolo, and Galp
In 2006, a company namedExem Energy BV acquired, in exchange for a US $11 million loan from Sonangol, a 6% stake in multibillion dollar Portuguese international energy companyGalp Energia worth US$ 750 million throughshares inholding companiesAmorim Energia, which holds a 33.45% share in Galp, and Esperaza, which holds a 45% stake in Amorim. Exem Energy BV was controlled and 40% owned bySindika Dokolo, who was the husband of President dos Santos's daughterIsabel dos Santos.[12][13]
This move was later described in 2020 as "tainted by illegality" by aDutch internationalarbitration tribunal inAmsterdam, "to reap an extraordinary financial gain to the detriment of Sonangol and, consequently, of the State of Angola,"[14] whichfroze Exem's assets, ruling in favor of a legal complaint by Sonangol that Exem owes them the shares back because of the corrupt way in which they were acquired.[12][13][15][16][17]
In December 2011,Human Rights Watch said that the government of Angola should explain the whereabouts of US$32 billion missing from government funds linked to Sonangol. A December 2011 report by theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the government funds were spent or transferred from 2007 through 2010 without being properly documented in the budget.[18] The IMF was assured that most of $32 billion was being used for "legitimate government reasons" and considered to be "found".[19]
In June 2016, President dos Santos removed the entire board of Sonangol, and installed his daughter Isabel as chairwoman of the company, to "ensure transparency and apply global corporate-governance standards".[20] This led to many accusations ofcorruption andnepotism. One year later, Maka Angola reported that Isabel dos Santos demanded, with threat, that theMinistry of Finance inject three billion US$ into the company, claiming it was necessary torescue Sonangol from immediatebankruptcy, though this was not granted.[21]
Isabel and her inner circle were paidsalaries, described in one indictment as "exorbidant renumerations," that cost Sonangol over US$ 13 million in 14 months between 2016 and 2017, with her own monthly salary set at more than US$ 50,000.[22]
In November 15, 2017, the new President of Angola,João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, dismissed both Isabel and the entire board of directors under her and named Carlos Saturnino Guerra Sousa e Oliveira as the Sonangol chairman.[23][24] Aninternal audit later revealed that after she had been dismissed, Isabel had transferred US $38 million of the company's funds to theDubai based company Ironsea (later renamed Matter),[25] which was only created by herself and her friend, Mário Leite da Silva, earlier that year. In total, Ironsea/Matter charged Sonangol more than US$ 130 million.[26]
In February 2019, the Angolan government began itsPropriv privatization program, and created theNational Oil, Gas and Biofuel Agency (ANPG) to take over regulation and promotion of the Angolan petroleum industry from Sonangol. ANPG was given the power to supervise Sonangol, and became the new nationalconcessionaire. In this regard, ANPG now controls who wins licenses to explore for petroleum, and awards contracts for production.[29]
In May 2019, Carlos e Oliveira was sacked[30] and replaced by Sebastião Gaspar Martins as head of the company.[31]
In July 2019, President Lourenço canceled the Dream's Leisure contract, returning control of the Talatona hotel to the state.[11]
In April 2020, the Ministry of Finance began conducting a pruning of Sonangol's other functions, including a selling of its peripheral businesses such as its ventures inaviation,banking, hotels, andreal estate, many of which were built during the regime of the dos Santos family. Sonangol will refocus on its core business: the petroleum industry. Finally, Sonangol itself is to undergo apartial privatization, making 30% of shares of itself available for purchase by 2027. These reforms are aimed at transforming Sonangol from being both regulating body and oil producer into a corporate entity overseen by a separate state entity, though it will remain majority state owned.[32][33]
The Sonangol Group is vast and complex, described as "an economic octopus".[34] It operates in offices around the world, and owns, owned, or shared dozens of subsidiaries and joint venture companiesupstream,midstream,downstream, and outside of the petroleum industry, not only in Africa, but in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia as well.[35] As of 2024, the company is currently in the process ofdivesting of many of its non-core assets.[36]
Sonangol's main corporate headquarters are in the Sonangol Building located on Rua Rainha Ginga, No 29-31 in the commercial Baixo neighborhood of theIngombota district in Luanda. The Sonangol Building was built in 2005, designed by Chinesearchitect Sung-ho Hang. 2,000 people are employed in the building.[37]
Sonangol Limited is Sonangol's European trading subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Its 9,000 square foot head office is located onBrompton Road in theKnightsbridgedistrict of London.[40][41]
Sonangol USA, or Sonusa, is Sonangol's trading company in theUnited States.[40] since November 12th, 1997.[42] Its 40,000 square foot headquarters are on Enclave Parkway in theEnergy Corridor ofHouston,Texas.[42]
China Sonangol International Holding Limited,joint holding company in Hong Kong[43]
Empresa de Serviços e Sondagens de Angola (ESSA)[44]
Sonadrill Holding,50/50 joint venture withSeadrill, controls Sonangol-owneddrillships Sonangol Quenguela[45] and Sonangol Libongos,[46] as well as Seadrill-owned West Gemini[47]
Sonangol Cabo Verde Sociedade e Investimentos[48][49][50]
Sonamer is an oil and natural gas well drilling company established in 1998 between Sonangol (49%) andPride International (51%), specializing in deep and ultra-deep waters.[3][40] It operates a fleet ofdrillships including the Pride Africa and Pride Angola.[53] The company is registered to apost office box inNassau,Bahamas.[54]
Sonangol Hidrocarbonetos Brazil Ltda, formerly Sonangol Starfish Oil & Gas SA,[55] formed in 2010 after Sonangol purchased Starfish Oil and Gas.[56] It produces and explores for oil inBrazil.[40]
Sonangol Pesquisa e Produção (Sonangol P&P) is an oil exploration and production arm of the Sonangol group.[40] In addition to its activities in Angola, it also operates the Najmah and Qayara oil fields inIraq through its subsidiary, Sonangol P & P Iraq.[57]
Kwanda Logistics Base on Kwanda Island in Soyo in 2007
Sonangol (through holding company subsidiary Sonangol Holdings) holds a 30% stake in the operating company of a logistics base for the petroleum industry onKwanda Island in Soyo, alongside Italy'sSaipem (49%) and fellow Angolan companiesCasoy (11%) andSangemental (10%).[58]
The base is located strategically to provide services both to the Port of Soyo and to nearby oil blocks.[59] The facilities at the base include threequays for oil and gas ships to dock, with storage, catering, housing, and medical services on shore.[60][61] Kwanda has over 700 employees.[62]
OPS Servicos de Producao de Petroleos Ltd is a joint venture between Sonangol and SBM Offshore that operates and manages a fleet of fiveFPSOs owned bySonasing: Kuito, Mondo, Sanha, and Saxi Batuque, as well as N’Goma, which was previously named Xikomba prior to a major refit.[63]
Sonangol Integrated Logistics Services operates a two-million square meter[64] petroleum industry onshore supply base in Luanda Bay with a 2 kilometer long quay,[65][66] equipment rentals, cargo facilities, warehouses, medical facilities, and other support services for ships.[67] Over 3,000 people work at the Luanda facility, over half of whom are Angolan nationals.[68] 65% of Angola's oil goes through SONILS.[64]
The SONILS base was designed in 1993, inaugurated in 1995, and expanded in 1998, 2004, and 2008, then given a new dock extension in 2012.[69]
Sonangol Logística is a liquid fuel storage subsidiary of Sonangol. In 2020, Sonangol Logística possessed 358,511 cubic meters of total fuel storage, representing over half the country's total capacity.[70]
Oil tanker Sonangol Kizomba, one of the vessels owned through Sonangol Shipping
Sonangol Shipping Holdings Limited and its subsidiary, Sonangol Shipping Angola, own a fleet of tankers bearing the Sonangol name, which transport both crude and refined oil to destinations worldwide.[71] The company is registered in Nissau, Bahamas, though the subsidiaries running the individual ships are all registered inMalta.[72]
Sonasing was founded in 1999 as a 50-50 joint venture between Sonangol andSBM Production. Its mission is to acquire FPSOs andFSOs for use by the Angolan oil industry. Sonasing owns the shipsOPS manages and operates.[63]
Empresa Nacional de Combustíveis, SARL (ENACOL) is owned by Sonangal (32.5%), Petrogal (32.5%), the government ofCape Verde (29.3%), and other minor partners. It markets, stores, and distributes petrochemicals in Cape Verde.[3] It is headquartered inMindelo,São Vicente.[73]
Empresa Nacional de Combustíveis e Óleos, SARL (ENCO) is the national fuel and gas company ofSão Tomé and Príncipe. Sonangol owns a majority stake of the company and, through its subsidiarySonaGás, is its primary supplier of fuel and its sole supplier ofbutane andliquefied natural gas.[74][75]
Pumangol is a network of gas stations and airport and marine fuel terminals formerly belonging toSwiss oil companyPuma Energy. Sonangol acquired Pumangol and other assets in April 2021 when it sold its stake in Puma Energy toTrafigura in April 2021 for US$ 600 million, then purchased Puma's assets in Angola, including Pumangol, for the same amount. Pumangol owns 81 fuel stations, fuel terminals in four airports, and the Terminal de Combustíveis da Pumangol em Luanda (TCPL) inLuanda Bay,[76] with its 81st fuel station opened on January 27, 2024 in Luanda.[77] Ivanilson Machando is CEO.[78]
Sonangalp Limitada is a fuel andlubricant distribution company formed in 1994 in partnership with Petrogal.[81] It is one of the three main subsidiary companies through which Galp Energia operates in Angola.[82] Sonangalp owns 54 filling stations in Angola.[70]
Sonangol owns a 30% stake which is slated for divestment.[83]
A Sonangol gasoline station on Don João II Ave in Luanda, likely operated by Sonangol Distribuidora.
Sonangol Distribuidora is adownstream petroleum product distribution subsidiary of Sonangol. It operates numerous retail gasoline stations.[40] In 2018, Sonangol Distribuidora employed 910 workers.[84]
In 2021, an unnamed former Sonangol Distribuidora CEO was charged with taking bribes from Trafigura and its CEO Mike Wainwright during the dos Santos presidency, gaining the latter profits of profits of US$ 143.7 million between 2009 and 2011.[85]
In 2017, SonaGás became the exclusive supplier of butane and liquid natural gas toENCO, the national gas company ofSão Tomé and Príncipe.[74][75]
In July 2024,Afreximbank announced plans to open afertilizer factory called AMUFERT in Soyo, with SonaGás owning a 10% stake and responsibilities for supply of gas to the factory.[87]
In 1998, Sonangol incorporated a subsidiary inKinshasa in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo[88] as a 60-40 joint venture withZimbabwean companyCOMIEX,[89] with the CongoleseMinister of State, Pierre-Victor Mpoyo, as its first CEO.[90] Sonangol later increased its stake to 75%.[88] Sonangol Congo focuses on the importing, marketing, storage, transportation of refined oil products in the DRC.[3] It is Angola's largest commercial enterprise in the DRC.[91]
Established in 2002 as a joint venture between Sonangol (30%) andTechnip Angola (70%), Angoflex is a manufacturer ofsubmarine umbilicals andpipelines for the oil industry, with over 24 projects[92] completed for clients such as BP,Chevron, Eni,ExxonMobil, and Total.[3][93] In 2019, Angoflex celebrated its 500th kilometer of umbilicals produced.[94]
Porto Amboim Estaleiros Navais (PAENAL) was founded in 2008 as a joint venture between Sonangol and partner SBM Offshore, withDaewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering joining in 2010.[63] PAENAL operates a shipyard inPorto Amboim that specializes in the construction and servicing of FPSO ships, and is the only shipyard in Angola with the capacity to do so. The yard employs 1,000 people and can fabricate up to 10,000 tons of modules per year. It is equipped with a 490 meter quay andJamba, the largest heavy lifting crane in Africa with a 2,500 ton capacity. The first African-built FPSO, CLOV, was built in PAENAL and launched in 2014.[95] Sonangol owns a 10% share of PAENAL which is planned for divestment in accordance with Propriv.[96]
Petromar builds, installs, and designs offshore facilities likeoil platforms,cranes, and deep water equipment.[40] The company was created by the Angolan government on October 6, 1984, as a result of Decree 23/84. It has a fabrication yard in Soyo.
In 2020, as part of Propriv, Sonangol made its 30% stake in Petromar available for bidding.[97][98]
Sonacergy Serviços e Construções Petrolíferas, Lda is a company that performs drilling, inspection, maintenance, assistance, and research of oil facilities. As part of Propriv, Sonangol is as of 2020 looking to divest its 40% stake of Sonacergy.[49][97][96]
Sonamet Industrial S.A. manufactures oil platforms and other large metal structures from its production facilities inLobito Bay.[3] It was founded as a joint venture between Sonangol and ETPM, which is nowSubsea 7.[99] As part of Propriv, Sonangol is as of 2020 looking to divest its 40% stake in Sonamet.[40][100]
Established in 1999 as a joint venture between Sonangol andTechnip, Technip Angola provides engineering services to the oil industry, including those of its subsidiary,Angoflex.[3]
Sonadiets Limitada and Sonadiets Services Limitada are Luanda-based joint ventures between Sonangol and international energy firmDietsmann.[112] They provides operational and maintenance support for the petrochemical industry, as well as workforce training. Their clients include Sonangol subsidiaries as well as Total, ExxonMobil, and Eni.[113]
Sonangol sold its 30% stake in Sonadiets Limitada and 51% in Sonadiets Services in 2022.[97][98][101]
Sonasurf operates ships for the oil industry since its founding in 1999 as a joint venture between Sonangol and Surf S.A.[3] Sonangol held a 50% stake in Sonasurf Angola and 49% in Sonasurf International until selling both in 2022 under Propriv.[101]
Sonatide Marine Angola Lda provides ships and ship management services to the oil industry. It was established as a joint venture between Sonangol and Tidewater Marine, aCayman Islands based company, with an investment of US$ 1.3 million in 2018, with Sonangol holding a 51% stake in the company and Tidewater Marine holding the rest.[114][115] Sonangol divested its stake in Sonatide in 2022.[106]
Sociedade Distribuidora de Combustíveis, S.A. (Sopor)[116] was a Portuguese fuel and refined petrochemical distributor established in 1957 and based inLisbon,[117] owned by Sonangol (49%) and Petrogal (51%).[3] Sopor was dissolved on 30 December, 2014.[118]
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