SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Universo www.universo-magazine.com
DECEMBER 2012
Happy Birthday Sonangol London! ISSUE 36 – DECEMBER 2012
ANGOLA GERMANY:
WILD FRONTIERS:
CUISINE:
Engineering success
Cross-border conservation
Thought for food
INSIDE:
oil and gas news
Brazuk Ltd
Universo is the international magazine of Sonangol Board Members Francisco de Lemos José Maria (President), Mateus de Brito, Anabela Fonseca, Sebastião Gaspar Martins, Fernando Roberto, Baptista Sumbe, Raquel Vunge Sonangol Department for Communication & Image Director João Rosa Santos Corporate Communications Assistants Nadiejda Santos, Lúcio Santos, Sarissari Diniz, José Mota, Beatriz Silva, Paula Almeida, Sandra Teixeira, Marta Sousa, Hélder Sirgado, Kimesso Kissoka Publisher Sheila O’Callaghan Editor John Kolodziejski Art Director Tony Hill Sub Editor Ron Gribble Circulation Manager Matthew Alexander Project Consultants Nathalie MacCarthy Mauro Perillo Group President John Charles Gasser Universo is produced by Impact Media Custom Publishing. The views expressed in the publication are not necessarily those of Sonangol or the publishers. Reproduction in whole or in part without prior permission is prohibited. This magazine is distributed to a closed circulation. To receive a free copy: circulation@universo-magazine.com Circulation: 17,000
Davenport House 16 Pepper Street London E14 9RP United Kingdom Tel + 44 20 7510 9595 Fax +44 20 7510 9596 sonangol@impact-media.com www.universo-magazine.com Cover: Viewgene
A note of optimism
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ngola’s remarkable economic growth is much more than just a building boom. Important quality-of-life changes are also under way, often going unnoticed by many. One case in point is Luanda Bay’s shoreline makeover. As well as the project’s obvious success in removing traffic bottlenecks and opening up the improved leisure area to all, the removal of waste water and other pollutants provides cleaner water and sweetersmelling air as well as an improved sea-life habitat. Walkers now delight in the sight of densely-packed shoals of fish turning the water into a bubbling cauldron as they leap and feed on small fry. Priceless. Another overlooked quality upgrade in Angola’s everyday life is in its service industries. Qualified younger people, many trained abroad, now offer services matching those of any developed economy. Recently having to set up a mobile broadband connection – an essential item for any visiting businessman – a visit to a small, innercity mobile phone shop was rewarded with helpful, speedy service from the staff, delivered with smiles. Hugely satisfying. Angola is getting there, and not just in the built environment! John Kolodziejski Editor
2 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
ANGOLA NEWS BRIEFING
President honours Congo Kings; Gove Dam restarts; Cacuso rail link; Palancas Negras football team through to finals; Angola polio victory commemorated; Cabinda’s ports get $1 billion-dollar investment
6 ANGOLA-GERMANY:
ENGINEERING SUCCESS
Partnership in high technology and training
14
COOK’S TOUR OF ANGOLA’S KITCHENS
What tickles Angola’s tastebuds
20 LUANDA’S EMBRACE: Providing for Luanda’s growth and leisure
28
PROLONGING ANGOLA’S OIL BENEFITS
The new sovereign wealth fund
32
KINGDOM OF THE WILD FRONTIERS
A vast cross-border conservation area takes shape
40
PARALYMPICS TEAM STRIKES GOLD
Talisman Sayovo gains gold again
42
SONANGOL NEWS BRIEFING
Sonangol and Maersk oil find; ZEE latest; new fuel depot at Kuando Kubango; Sonangol Starfish returns Brazil block; Team Schlesser denied World Cup win; Sonangol grants 500 scholarships; Rio Oil and Gas
44 LONDON REGENERATION
Sonangol Ltd turns thirty
Brazuk Ltd
14
20 Leslie Crookes
THE BENGO REGION
32 Henrique Malungo, courtesy of BP Angola
6
Lula Ahrens
4
© Photographer: Jens Görlich © CGI: MO CGI GbR
Contents
40 DECEMBER 2012 3
Angola news briefing
Palancas Negras through to finals
President honours Congo Kings ■ President José Eduardo dos Santos has laid a
statue foundation stone commemorating the kings of the once powerful ancient Kingdom of the Congo which included parts of present-day Angola. The act took place at M’banza Congo in Zaire province, where the government aims to raise the status of the city to an UNESCO World Heritage Site and help make it an historic tourist attraction. Minister for Culture Rosa Maria Martins da Cruz e Silva said the statue was also a tribute to King Dom Antonió the First, who ruled Congo 16611665. M’banza Congo was then the main city on the west coast of Africa and had a population of 44,000 including around 4,000 Europeans.
Cacuso rail link
ALEXANDER JOE/AFP/Getty
■ Rail company Caminhos de Ferro de Luanda (CFL) is to
■ Angola’s national side, the Palancas Negras, beat Zimbabwe 2-0 in
Luanda in October. Both goals, scored in the first five minutes, came from team talisman and former Manchester United player Manucho. The Palancas turned around a 3-1 defeat suffered in the first leg match in Harare and qualified thanks to their away goal. The result means Angola go through to the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations for a fifth successive campaign. The AFCON finals will be held in South Africa in 2013. The Palancas’ win was the team’s second victory in three matches for their Uruguayan coach Gustavo Ferrín who took over in July.
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build a new branchline off the Luanda-Malange route to serve the rich agribusiness lands around Cacuso. Two main sites will benefit: Biocom, where an ambitious sugar and ethanol complex has been ramping up production to meet Angola’s sugar needs and has the prospect of producing biofuel as well; and Pungo Andongo, a huge irrigated farming area producing a large range of agricultural products.
Gove Dam restarts ■ President dos Santos reopened the Gove Dam in
Huambo province at the end of August. The 60MW hydropower plant on the River Cunene had been off-line for over 20 years. The revamp means more power for industry in Huambo and Bié provinces. There are around 120 industries in Huambo, and the dam’s energy is likely to boost interest in a new greenfield industrial park at Caála.
Angola news briefing
Billion-dollar ports bonanza ■ Over $1 billion is to be invested in Cabinda province
Angola polio victory
Rob Byron
Brazuk Ltd
ports over the next five years, says Transport Minister Augusto da Silva Tomás. He made the announcement during the opening ceremony of the new pier at Cabinda port, which he said was just the starting point of a larger programme. The minister revealed that construction of a new deepwater port would go ahead at Caio, also in Cabinda province: “We are doing our best so that the port gains an important role in the group of national and neighbouring countries’ ports, namely those in the two Congos.” He added that the investment was proof of the Angolan government’s strong commitment to development and better wealth distribution in the country.
■ In August, Angola commemorated a year without any new polio
cases being reported. In 2010 there were 33 cases and just five in 2011, while in the 12 months to August none were reported. The last case registered was that of a 14-months-old child in Uíge province in July 2011. The success is attributed to improved disease surveillance and mass polio vaccination campaigns, along with greater access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene.
FIGURED OUT
$5 billion
start-up pot for Angola’s sovereign wealth fund
Angola in numbers
100,000 tonnes Bengo’s banana crop for 2012/2013
20 million tonnes annual future output from Kassinga iron ore mine
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number of Angolan airports totally upgraded by 2014
15 million
annual passenger capacity at new Luanda Airport hub
DECEMBER 2012 5
Martin Lehmann
6 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
INTERNATIONAL
ANGOLA-GERMANY:
ENGINEERING
SUCCESS
The most obvious evidence of Germany’s presence in Angola is the array of high-quality vehicles on its roads. However, economic interchanges between the two countries are taking place in other, often less visible areas. Universo takes a closer look
DECEMBER 2012 7
INTERNATIONAL
Training and education President dos Santos also indicated there would be a German role in developing much-needed training and education to aid Angola’s industrialisation. Education,
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Angop
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ngola is well aware of Germany’s well-deserved global reputation for reliable, quality engineering. Luanda’s police use Audi cars to patrol the streets, while other imposing German vehicles such as BMWs and Mercedes-Benz grace Angola’s newlyrebuilt roads from Cabinda to Cunene. President José Eduardo dos Santos expressed his own confidence in German engineering prowess during the visit of Chancellor Angela Merkel in July last year when he said her country would be the preferred partner in Angola’s energy projects. “I informed her that Angola will build three large power dams over the next few years and the electromechanical equipment used in these powerproduction plants would be of German origin,” the president said. The equipment, mainly turbines, would be worth around €1 billion, he added. Germany’s Voith and Siemens are seen as the likely beneficiaries of this verbal agreement, given that Voith supplied the turbines for the recently upgraded Cambambe Dam near Dondo. The first of three dams slated to use the German equipment is the country’s largest power project, the 2,067 megawatt Laúca Dam in Kwanza Norte province. Construction work began in June and the dam is expected to come on-line in July 2016. President dos Santos described the joint declaration of common intent during Chancellor Merkel’s visit as “written in letters of gold in the history of relations between the two countries”. The chancellor was the first German head of government to visit Angola. She agreed to a “wide-ranging political partnership” between the two countries, which included the creation of a bilateral commission charged with developing political, social, economic, cultural, scientific and educational relations.
President dos Santos alongside Chancellor Merkel during her 2011 visit to Angola
he said, was key to enabling all Angolans to take part in the life of Angolan society. He pointed out to journalists that when Angola achieved independence there had been a 98 per cent illiteracy rate. “That data is the starting point, and although much improved since, there is still a lack of qualified personnel in sufficient numbers, which is the condition for getting value from Angola’s potentially rich land.” Germany’s ambassador Jörg-Werner Marquardt agrees that one of the greatest constraints on social and economic development is a shortage of skilled workers. “We give a great deal of support to professional training because we believe that without qualified people we won’t have sustainable development,” he told Jornal de Angola. Consequently, one of the main thrusts of Germany’s co-operation efforts in Angola is vocational. Its aim is to help build Angola’s human capital to aid industrialisation and economic diversification as well as socioeconomic integration. Vocational training, widely viewed as a key ingredient to Germany’s economic success, is supported in Angola under a bilateral government-to-government agreement by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
GIZ has been working in Angola since 1995, initially helping in food security, peace-building and rehabilitating the physically handicapped. More recently, German government support has concentrated its efforts on aiding Angola’s vocational education, training and business development. GIZ is addressing this problem through helping reform vocational training under the Ministry of Public Administration, Employment and Social Security (Mapess), notably in construction. One of Germany’s success stories has been its apprenticeship scheme; which combines on-the-job learning with formal college training. Just over half of Germany’s young people go through this system. There are more than 340 recognised professions where this training qualification is a condition of employment. GIZ work in Angola includes capacitybuilding for defining occupational profiles, skill requirements, curricula and test item development as well as training for certain trades such as bricklaying and installing domestic electrical wiring. The organisation has done this by calling on practitioners to contribute to and agree on the requisite skills to be learnt. GIZ has also held seminars aimed at promoting small and medium-sized enterprises in Angola. Germany’s powerful
© Photographer: Jens Görlich © CGI: MO CGI GbR
INTERNATIONAL
Lufthansa flies to Luanda twice weekly
Chancellor Merkel’s visit was “written in letters of gold in the history of relations between the two countries”
German companies with offices in Angola ASGM (VW) BAUER Angola Bayer HealthCare
German-backed trainees in Luanda
Commerzbank DHL Internacional (Angola) Ferrostaal AG GAUFF Engineering GIZ International Services Krones Angola Kuehne + Nagel (Angola) Lufthansa Nehlsen Ambiente Angola Nokia Siemens Networks Schenker AG
GIZ-FormPRO copyright R.Maro
Sertopo Siemens SA Angola TrevoTech C Woermann Angola Source: German Embassy, Luanda
DECEMBER 2012 9
INTERNATIONAL
GAUFF’s activities in Angola Pipe-laying in Lubango
WATER Water supply: exploration, storage, transport and distribution Waste-water: drainage, treatment, and re-use of treated water and sludge ENVIRONMENT Solid-waste management TRANSPORT Urban transportation solutions (roads, rails and parking)
Courtesy GAUFF Engineering
ENERGY Hydropower Renewables (solar and wind energy) AGRICULTURE Rural development and organisation Dams and irrigation Rural transportation
economy is mainly based on the small and medium-sized companies which account for 80 per cent of its GDP.
Angola-Germany trade Angola is Germany’s third most important market in sub-Saharan Africa. Bilateral trade tripled to $1.5 billion last year, rocketing from just $491 million in 2010. The 2011 figure was atypical given that German access to Libyan oil was blocked and Angola thus filled the supply gap, but in future Germany is expected to buy more hydrocarbons from Angola given that the Soyo liquefied natural gas plant is now up and running. While Angola currently sells mainly crude to Germany, German exports to Angola are much more diversified. Apart from vehicles, German sales include oil and gas-sector equipment for the offshore industry, construction plant, high-tech hospital apparatus, bottling and packaging equipment, telecommunications, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals,
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engineering-consultancy services and water-supply systems.
GAUFF fast track One of Germany’s most prominent companies in Angola is Nuremberg-based GAUFF Engineering. Founded by 81-yearold patriarch Helmut P. Gauff, it has been active in the country since 1995. GAUFF started operations on the continent in 1965 and has gained experience in more than 30 African countries. The company assists the reconstruction and modernisation of public and social infrastructure in Angola with efficient “Fast Track Solutions”. GAUFF’s main activities involve engineering, procurement, and project and operation management for public and industrial infrastructure projects – such as urban and rural roads, parking areas, road and rail transportation, bridges, water supply and waste-water systems, hydropower, renewable energy and rural development.
As part of its Fast Track Solutions, GAUFF offers close co-operation with German banks, which can provide tailormade long-term financing. Since its arrival in Angola, GAUFF has executed many engineering services for a number of government ministries, such as studies for improving Luanda’s urban transport. Since 2004, GAUFF has been active in designing and supervising the reconstruction of long-distance highways totalling more than 1,000km in different Angolan provinces. A large part of these highways benefited from GAUFF’s help in arranging finance as part of its Fast Track Solutions scheme. The company has also been supporting Luanda’s water-supply company EPAL since 2003 in its planning and investment for rehabilitating and extending urban supply systems. As an EPPM (Engineering Procurement and Project Management) consultant, GAUFF is currently also responsible for the first phase of the development of the water supply and
INTERNATIONAL
waste-water system of Lubango, with an investment and finance package of €90 million. Lubango has a very fast-growing population of around 1.2 million. Apart from these activities, GAUFF has also drawn up proposals for minihydropower plants for decentralised energy supplies to various provinces. The company employs many Angolans and offers them practical and theoretical training based on the German apprenticeship system, which is a very important aspect in all the projects The promotion of capable young Angolan technicians together with other German partners and universities is an important objective in GAUFF’s strategy. For many years, it has organised studies for its Angolan employees in Europe. To fulfil its social responsibility, the GAUFF Foundation co-operates actively with Angolan social foundations and promotes and assists, among other activities, several orphanages in Angola and sports clubs in the provinces. Angolan Orlando Ferraz (pictured right) has been with GAUFF for seven years, having spent a total of 17 years in Germany where he studied at the Universities of Bonn and North Rhine-Westphalia. “The most attractive points in working for a German company are those that have to do with the virtues by which the Germans are known: seriousness, thoroughness in the execution and
meeting of commitments, and punctuality in meetings as well as in meeting timetables agreed in contractual clauses – in other words, responsibility in their approach,” he says. During his long stay in Germany, Ferraz was a leader of the Angolan student community. Consequently, he travelled throughout the country and got to know all 16 federal states. “Learning the language opened many doors for me and made it easier to fit in socially. It was a much smoother and deeper relationship.” Ferraz read widely in German and, being passionate about music, appreciated contemporary German artistes such as Matthias Reim, Modern Talking and Herbert Grönemeyer. Ferraz said his favourite German dish was Maultaschen, a kind of pasta envelope, similar to ravioli, filled with minced meat in hollandaise sauce or cream, as well as the famous Nuremberg sausages.
“The attractions of working for a German company are seriousness, thoroughness and responsibility in their approach” – Orlando Ferraz
Albert Einstein – physicist
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Some prominent Germans Johannes Gutenberg – inventor of the printing press Felix Hoffmann – inventor of aspirin Rudolf Diesel – inventor of the diesel engine Karl Benz – inventor of the petrol-engine car Adolf Dassler – inventor of Adidas sports shoes DECEMBER 2012 11
INTERNATIONAL
Siemens solutions shop
Energy generation, transmission and distribution
Siemens
Siemens Angola: areas of activity Water projects Oil industry equipment Gas turbines, compressors Mining Electrical and engineering services and maintenance Automation and instrumentation Airport equipment Healthcare
Siemens
Telecommunications
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Germany’s Siemens, one of the world’s leading engineering conglomerates, is also present in Angola. The company had a global turnover of €73.5 billion last year. Angola accounted for a small but growing part of this figure. Siemens only re-established offices in Angola in 2005 after an absence of many years. Siemens Angola had sales of €10.5 million in 2011 but its order book, worth €15.8 million, pointed to growth. The company offers a broad range of equipment, engineering and related services for industry, energy, healthcare and infrastructure. Current Siemens activity in Angola includes power-generation and waterpumping systems, notably for the important offshore oil industry where Sonangol, Chevron and Total are clients. Siemens installed eight gas turbines to power Angola LNG’s Soyo plant and has supplied an 11.5MW generator for Luanda’s refinery. Its other high-profile projects in Angola are a telecommunications network operation in partnership with Nokia and the supply of a radiotherapy apparatus to the Girassol Clinic. Siemens has supplied airport, office and hotel-security equipment and has also provided instrumentation for the Catumbela cement plant near Lobito. Siemens has become heavily involved in supporting education and training in Angola. “For Siemens, training engineers and managers is a core preoccupation in Angola and a contribution the company can make to the country,” says Angolanborn Jorge Tropa, chief executive of Siemens Angola. “It’s very challenging to be able to help Angola find sustainable answers for the future. It’s equally very gratifying for me to create job places and give development opportunities to people who by their work ensure their own and their families’ sustenance,” he says. Siemens trains engineers and clients in the area of energy distribution, instrumentation and maintenance of turbines and electronic equipment, and to this end its ATEC training academy in Portugal has signed a co-operation
INTERNATIONAL
Looking ahead Siemens is already highly involved in Brazil’s pre-salt oil deposits development, an area in which Angola is currently taking its first tentative steps. Chemtech, Siemens’ Brazilian specialist engineering subsidiary, has a leading role in contracts for engineering equipment employed in exploiting Brazil’s pre-salt deposits. The company’s training and experience in Brazil will enable Angola to prepare to meet the technological challenges of exploiting its own pre-salt oil. In order to facilitate this transfer of knowhow, Siemens offers work experience for Angolan engineers who want to attend the Siemens corporate academy in Brazil to improve their engineering skills and project management. Armed with this specialist training, Siemens and its Angolan engineers will be in a better position to win contracts and supply services for Angola’s pre-salt ventures.
food but manages the whole logistics chain involved in supplying airline meals, from sourcing the food to packaging and placing it on board planes. Germany’s LSG Sky Chefs is one of the world’s largest airline-catering companies and last year produced about 492 million meals for more than 300 companies around the globe.
Saving value Two German firms, Krones AG and Ferrostaal AG, are fulfilling a crucial need in converting Angolan raw materials into consumer goods. Krones AG boasts that a fifth of the world’s bottles has been filled, labelled or packaged on its machines. The company is responsible for the canning and bottling machinery at the Sequent Brewery, 35km outside Luanda.
Ferrostaal AG is responsible for the Giasop fruit and tomato-processing plant at N’gola Lombo, near Porto Amboim in Kwanza Sul. This flexible plant produces mango, passion fruit, guava and pineapple nectar and also tomato paste. Processing up to five tonnes an hour of mangoes or tomatoes, the plant can produce an hourly output of 5,000 gable-topped cartons. Storage and shipment of Angolan foodstuffs, especially fruit and vegetables, has been a bottleneck for the country’s farmers. Companies such as Ferrostaal provide an outlet for excess fresh produce that might otherwise have gone to waste. With the building of such packaging plants, farmers, especially small family holdings, can now step up production confident that their efforts will be rewarded. p
Voith
agreement with Angola’s Integrated Centre for Technological Training (Cinfotec). Siemens also recently made an agreement with Angola’s Higher Polytechnic for Technology and Science (ISPTEC) for cooperation in developing human resources, projects and technologies in engineering, economics and management.
LSG – food for flight Angola’s flagship airline TAAG was mindful of German industry’s prompt and efficient delivery of quality products when it chose LSG Sky Chefs as its partner in producing meals for its passengers. The new company LSG, Sky Chefs TAAG Angola started operations in midJuly. Its owners are TAAG (35%), Germany’s number one carrier Lufthansa (40%), Angola Air Catering (20%) and Angolan airports authority Enana (5%). Initially the facility will serve just TAAG operations and Lufthansa, which has two flights a week to Frankfurt, but it will in future cater for other airlines. The $12 million unit at Luanda Airport employs 200 people and has the capacity to make between 6,000 and 7,000 meals a day. The company not only prepares the
German companies are likely to benefit from Angolan dam contracts
DECEMBER 2012 13
By Lula Ahrens
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CULTURE
With Luanda’s numerous international restaurants, Angola’s own varied and colourful cuisine is sometimes unjustly overlooked. In such a large and culturally-rich country, the discovery of its food habits will always be an adventure. Universo provides a taster
T
he visitor’s first introduction to Angolan food is usually funge or pirão, bland but filling dishes that serve as the base of most meals and are often combined with fish, chicken or meat and sauce. Funge de bombo, more common in northern Angola, is a gelatinous, colourless paste made from corn or cassava flour (fubá). The yellowish pirão, similar to polenta, is made from cornflour and is more commonly eaten in the south. During weekends, Angolan families typically sit down to funge during the day and switch to grilled meat and fish at night. But, as with everything else in Angola, there is a lot more to discover. Adventurous, experimental connoisseurs might want to try Angolan specialities such as jinguinga – goat tripe and blood –from Malange province; the Kwanza Norte delicacy kifula – game meat served with boiled and toasted palm-tree grasshoppers – or mafuma, frog meat from Cunene. Those who prefer a safer start will love caldeirada de cabrito, goat-meat stew with rice, traditionally served on Angolan Independence Day (November 11), or kizaka, the finely mashed, spinach-like leaves of the manioc plant seasoned and mixed with ground peanuts. Try mukua, the traditional Angolan dried fruit from the country’s emblematic baobab tree, it is often used to make ice cream. Cocada amarela (yellow coconut pudding), made with sugar, grated coconut, egg yolks and ground cinnamon, is less exotic but also delicious.
Historic overview Five centuries of Portuguese colonisation heavily influenced Angolan cuisine. In most restaurants, Portuguese dishes such as seafood rice or bacalhau com natas (cod with cream) will be popular and available. Brazilian and other European influences have also had their impact. The roots of Angola’s major ethnic groups can be traced in local cuisine. The coastal areas of Luanda, Benguela and Namibe are known for their variety of seafood. Fish stews including caldeirada de peixe and muzongue are made from whatever is available, and served with rice. Angolan fish stews such as calulu and mufete de cacusso are believed to be excellent hangover cures that work wonders even before the very first headache sets in! A standard, superb condiment at an Angolan lunch or dinner table is gindungu, a spicy sauce made of chilli pepper, garlic, onion and sometimes brandy. Not surprisingly, some believe that the sauce is an aphrodisiac. In central Angolan villages, you will find steamed or boiled green vegetables, peas, beans, cereals and game meat. Traditional game meats consumed in parts of Angola include veal, deer, wildebeest and warthog. Typical Angolan ingredients generally include flour, beans, rice, fish, chicken, egg, sweet potatoes, manioc (cassava), yams, tomatoes, onions, peanuts, okra and various spices such as chilli. Kizaka manioc plant leaves are
DECEMBER 2012 15
CULTURE
Cheers! Angola also produces a great variety of drinks. Many of them are made at home from bananas, potatoes and cassava skin. Kissangua, a popular drink in the south, is made from cornflour. Mongozo, which means ‘cheers!’ in the language of the Chokwe people, is a beer traditionally made from palm nuts. The Chokwe started brewing this beer before colonial times. The fact that it is exported to various countries, including Belgium, Europe’s beer mecca, says a lot about its quality. Angola also produces an impressive variety of homemade spirits such as the Kwanza Norte provincial specialty capatica made from bananas; the maize-based caporroto from Malange; cazi or caxipembe made from potato and cassava skin; cornbased kimbombo; and the palm wines maluva or ocisangua, made with palm-tree juice, a northern Angolan favourite. Gonguenha is made from toasted manioc flour, while ualende from the province of Bié can be made from sugarcane, sweet potato, corn or fruits. Other beverages include the homemade vodka kapuka, the honey-based
Lula Ahrens
mostly consumed as cooked greens. Many Angolans have chickens or goats running around their properties, but cabrito (goat) is only served on special occasions. Beautiful, fresh and flavoursome Angolan fruits, vegetables, potatoes and herbs are sold in local supermarkets such as Kero and Martal, as well as at open markets and in the street. In Luanda, you will often find that the simplest local restaurants serve the best food. On the southern side of Luanda’s long protective peninsula, the Ilha, as you drive from the city centre bay area, is the Chicala neighbourhood. Here you will find one of Luanda’s most well-known fish markets (the other is on the Samba highway) as well as two restaurants right next to each other. Some of Luanda’s best grilled fish is served right there for just $20 a head. Clients choose their freshly-caught fish from a bucket, after which it is gutted, cleaned and grilled. The whole fish is then served as a mufete de cacusso, with a delicious sauce made of chopped onions, baked bananas and sweet potatoes as well as beans in palm oil (see recipe on page 19).
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ovingundu and homemade Angolan whisky, whiskey kota. Kissangua, a Southern Angolan traditional non-alcoholic drink made of cornflour, is sometimes used in indigenous healing rituals. Angola’s oldest and most celebrated commercial beer brand, of course, is Cuca, which is brewed in Luanda. Eka (brewed in Dondo, Kwanza Norte), N’gola (Lubango) and Nocal (Luanda) are also popular.
Angolans and their favourite dishes Engineer Ana, 33, studied in London, UK, and moved back to Angola in 2004 to work for an international oil company. One of the things she enjoys most about being back in Luanda is the food. Walking past women selling vegetables on the street, she says: “With the decrease in landmine exposure and an increase in farming, you see more and more traditional leaves reappearing in the market. I’m trying out traditional dishes that I never even knew existed for instance, a particular mushroom – turtulho - cooked with peanuts. It’s from Malange.” Luanda boasts fancy Portuguese, Chinese, French, Brazilian, Cape Verdian, Ethiopian and even Japanese restaurants, and Ana visits them frequently. She remembers that during the civil war food was scarce. “There used to be a system of food coupons, with people standing in queues for hours. Even simple things like apples used to be a rarity.” Shipping co-ordinator Gildo, 33, was brought up in Angola. He lived in South Africa from 1996 until 2000, and then in Canada until 2004. “During the war, the food supply in Luanda was very limited,” he recalls. “We ate fried carapau, a mackerel-like fish, with rice, funge or bean soup, and a few canned foods. Dairy products, most other fish types and fruit and vegetables were hardly ever available. “The roads weren’t safe, so you couldn’t transport produce from the provinces to Luanda. Bread was a luxury. Hundreds of people used to queue for hours before their local shop opened. Some put down
CULTURE
Lula Ahrens
Lula Ahrens
Faraways
in paper with a little stick inside. You lick it like an ice cream. One of my favourite traditional sweets is what Angolans call ‘goats’ droppings’. It is condensed milk, heated until brown, and turned into little balls,” he says. Ana also has sweet memories of her Luanda childhood. “We used to eat mukua ice cream (made from baobab fruit), paracuca and doce de coco (dry coconut pancake), all made and sold by grandma. Yummy.” Unlike most people, Gildo was not impressed by South African cuisine and missed Angolan flavours. “While we lived there, my sister used to cook Angolan food at home. Friends brought kizaka, dried fish and even fubá whenever they visited.” p
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a stone, went back home and returned later. Others would move the stone ahead. People respected each other.” At home, Gildo and his family used to make omelettes with water and powdered eggs, which they bought in 50 kilo bags. Today, he enjoys a real omelette at Angolan restaurant Jango Veleiro, on the Ilha. “Aah... This is so much better than the dried version. You knew it was egg, but it was not the real deal,” he says. “Sweets and desserts were almost nonexistent, except during Christmas. But people made homemade sweets such as paracuca, which are sugar-covered peanuts in a paper cone. You still see these quite a lot, but they are no longer sold in paper. “Pirulito is melted, hardened sugar
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CULTURE
R FISH U O L L A Y U B E “W HERMEN S I F M O R F Y L I A D ACROSS ON THE BEACH T THE THE ROAD, OR A ” SAMBA NEARBY,
KUEIROS A S Í U L A I R A M SAYS COOK
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Lula Ahrens
CULTURE
Ingredients: 250g cassava flour (fubá), 500ml water Mufete de Cacusso (from Bengo province) Calulu, the alternative, is from Kwanza Sul
Traditional method: Boil a cooking pot of water and as soon as it is bubbling remove it from the flame and place the pot on the floor. Wrap a cloth around the base of the pot and hold steady with your feet. For perfect funge you need twice as much water as cassava flour. Add the flour to the hot water in one go and beat energetically with a 35cm (or longer) funge stick. The mixture thickens rapidly, so beat it thoroughly or you will end up with lumps rather than a smooth dough-like porridge.
Ingredients: Fresh river tilapia, raw onion, palm oil, beans, lemon, sweet potato, plantain and cassava
Preparation method: Season the fish with salt and oil and then grill in an oven or over a charcoal fire.
Making the sauce: Chop the onion finely; add lemon juice, water, salt, pepper and oil.
Modern method: Bring the water to the boil in a casserole dish. Meanwhile, beat the cassava flour into a bowl containing 500ml cold water until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add this to the boiling water, whisking to combine the two. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Then add a lid and place in an oven pre-heated to 180°C. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the mixture has thickened to a dough-like consistency. This will leave you with perfectly smooth funge without all the hard work.
Cooking palm oil beans: 1 kg beans (approximately 2 lbs) 1 glass palm oil, salt and if desired onion and garlic. Cook the beans until tender. Add the palm oil and salt. Simmer until the oil is hot, and serve immediately with boiled sweet potato, plantain and cassava.
Ingredients: 1 chicken, 1 large onion, 2 cups of palm hash (by-product of palm oil), 4 cloves of garlic, ½ kg okra, tomatoes
Faraways
Preparation: Season the chicken with garlic, salt, black pepper, lemon or vinegar. Add the chopped onion, tomatoes and the palm hash. Place in oven. When the chicken is almost done, add the okra. When the okra is cooked, the muamba is ready to be served. Accompany it with palm oil beans, funge or rice.
DECEMBER 2012 19
LUANDA’S EMBRACE: THE BENGO REGION
20 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
PROVINCE
Bengo province and its contiguous areas completely embrace urban Luanda. Universo looks at the region’s role in relation to the capital and its impressive development prospects
A
ll major growing cities need surrounding wide open spaces not just for future expansion but also as a contrasting, clean-air escape for their inhabitants to enjoy in their leisure time. Bengo province and its former municipalities Icolo e Bengo and Kissama* provide the teeming capital Luanda with the relief of greenery and expansive beaches city dwellers often crave. The importance any city’s adjacent recreation area plays in the physical and mental wellbeing of its inhabitants cannot be underestimated. The quality of life for the 10 million people living in the largely treeless Brazilian mega-city of São Paulo is much improved by the access to pristine beaches and mountainous rainforest within an hour’s drive. Life, too, for the inhabitants of England’s grey, formerly smoky industrial capital Manchester, would have been intolerable without the easy journey to the clean air on the surrounding moorland hills.
Bottlenecks uncorked Driving out of Luanda in any direction towards the Bengo region has often been a time-consuming affair owing to the city’s notorious traffic jams. These bottlenecks are gradually being cleared, thanks to the
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Footnote * Luanda province formally absorbed Icolo e Bengo and Kissama in February “to address the need to ensure greater efficiency in the organisation and functioning of institutions and services in the face of urban growth”.
DECEMBER 2012 21
PROVINCE
building of three major urban highways heading north, south and east. As Bengo, and the rest of Angola, becomes more easily reached, its economic and tourism potential is beginning to be realised. Highways along the coast south from Luanda towards Kissama and east towards Icolo e Bengo and the Kwanza valley are largely finished and are providing muchimproved access to the region. However, the new highway heading north from Luanda towards Caxito, Bengo’s provincial capital, is only now approaching completion after a complicated rebuild. The vital northern coastal route takes the lion’s share of Luanda’s heavy, slowmoving port district traffic, carrying thousands of trucks each day to the rest of the country. The road building has been a tough task, hindered by difficult geology, unplanned land occupation in densely-populated districts and high flood risks, but this is now being overcome after a large-scale drainage scheme and the construction of a four-lane highway. Soon traffic jams will ease and Bengo will be under an hour’s drive from Luanda city centre.
Infrastructure The Bengo region is reaping great benefits from the government’s hefty investment in new infrastructure over the past decade. Located just beyond the uncongested, fastmoving Luanda beltway, Bengo province, Icolo e Bengo and Kissama are wellconnected to each other and enjoy speedy routes to the industrial region of Viana and to the rest of Angola. This combination of good road connections and the availability of space was crucial to the decision to site two of Angola’s largest greenfield projects in Bengo; one is Luanda’s new international airport hub, the other is a new deepwater port. Luanda’s new airport will have capacity for 15 million passengers a year. Located 40km from the city centre, between Viana and Bom Jesus, the airport will have 20 international and 11 domestic gates. Its two double runways will be capable of taking the Airbus 380, the world’s largest passenger airliner. Work began in 2008
22 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
and completion of phase one is expected in December 2013.
Super port The new port’s go-ahead was announced in November 2011 and detailed studies are underway. Victor Carvalho, general director of Angola’s Maritime and Port Institute, said the port, to be built just north of the busy fishing village of Barra do Dande, 45km north of Luanda, will be one of the largest in Africa. The new development will ease congestion at the old downtown Luanda port and give extra capacity to Angola’s rapidly expanding import-export trade. The existing port of Luanda has very limited space for expansion and its road access has suffered from congestion for decades. Initial plans envisage a long pier to be built on the north bank of the Dande River. This ‘arm’ will reach the deepest water and also shelter the new port from the predominantly southern sea current. The pier will enable the loading of up to 25 million tonnes a year of minerals, mainly iron ore from Kwanza Norte, and could also handle imported fertilisers. Other port areas will be dedicated to the loading and unloading of sea containers and general cargo, and for supporting Angola’s burgeoning offshore oil industry.
Mineral resources Bengo’s geology and mineral resources have played a key role in Angola’s economy. The country’s modern oil industry dates from 1915 when the ‘black gold’ was first drilled near Dande. In more recent years, Bengo’s generous store of mineral wealth has provided large amounts of high-quality aggregates for roadbuilding and construction materials. Hundreds of trucks each day ply between Bengo’s quarries and gravel pits to supply Luanda’s myriad construction sites. Bengo has deposits of kaolin, chalk, asphalt, limestone, iron, feldspar, sulphur and mica.
Industrial enterprises Bengo has a long history of industrial development. Before independence the province had sugar, cotton, plastics and
soap industries. In more recent years new industries have chosen Bengo for their businesses, thanks not only to the rapid expansion of the oil industry but also to the Angolan government’s efforts to diversify the economy. The government’s Luanda-Bengo Special Economic Zone (ZEE) includes Icolo e Bengo (now in Luanda province) along with Dande, Nambuangongo and Ambriz in Bengo. The ZEE also includes Luanda’s main industrial focus, Viana, and Cacuaco, which borders Bengo. The ZEE was designed to boost the industrialisation of the region to the north and east of Luanda while absorbing labour (14,000 jobs) and drawing residents from the densely-populated conurbation to its periphery. The ZEE project, promoted by Sonangol industrial arm SIIND has a target of having 73 factories up and running by
PROVINCE
2015. Enterprises operating in the zone now number 17 and another nine units are expected to start up by the end of this year, reaching 53 units by 2014. Angoflex, which runs Bengo’s largest modern industry, started operations in 2005. The company, a Sonangol jointventure with France’s Technip, manufactures deepwater steel-tube umbilicals for the oil industry. Umbilicals are bundles of tubes, electric cables and optical fibres which remotely control and operate subsea equipment such as wellheads. Angoflex’s ‘spoolbase’, where umbilical pipelines are literally rolled on to spools, occupies a greenfield site just south of Dande. It is one of the most advanced industries of its kind in Africa. Around 400 people (90 per cent Angolan) work on site welding and processing steel tubing into lengths of up to 3km. The tubes are laid out on a pier and then wound
onto giant wheels mounted on ships. The jointed umbilical pipelines are later unwound and straightened at oil and gasproduction sites. Angoflex has the capacity to manufacture 300km of umbilicals a year. The company already supplies BP and Total for blocks 31 and 17 and has completed export orders for Anadarko’s Jubilee project in Ghana.
King banana The resurgence of Bengo’s once-thriving agricultural sector is leading to a renaissance in associated food-processing industries. The undoubted kingpin of this sector in Bengo is the banana. Afonso Pedro Canga, Angola’s Minister of Agriculture, says Angola is now selfsufficient in bananas. Bengo has a firm belief that its booming banana output will soon make it one of
(Right) River Dande
Brazuk Ltd
Brazuk Ltd
Key raw materials for Luanda’s construction industry
DECEMBER 2012 23
Carlos Moco
Mark Clydesdale BZO
24 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
PROVINCE
Angola’s leading exports. To promote its bananas, Caxito held its first Banana Fair in February. Exhibitors from the provinces of Kwanza Norte, Bengo, Benguela, Zaire, Uíge, Kwanza Sul, Malange and Luanda attended the event. Abrahão Pio dos Santos Gourgel, Angola’s Minister of Economy, said the country might start exporting bananas within the next two years, judging by the growth recorded of this product. Conditions, he said, had been created to ensure a continued increase of quality through planting systems and improved technical assistance. Agrolider, the Angolan agribusiness giant and Caxito Banana Fair prizewinner, forecasts it will produce 100,000 tonnes of the fruit in the 2012-13 growing season, compared with 54,000 tonnes in the previous harvest. Part of Agrolider’s crop comes from the 2,500-hectare Caxito Rega irrigated farming area, located in a former sugar plantation near provincial capital Caxito. Caxito Rega a government-managed initiative with 70 per cent state ownership was established in 2008. An existing irrigation system including 23km of channels was renovated. Some 1,600 hectares of Caxito Rega are cultivated by private companies and the rest by family farmers and individuals. A major step was taken to process produce at the site in August 2012 when a factory was opened, initially to process
and pack dried bananas and tomato paste and pulp. Financed by Germany’s Deutsche Bank and installed by Spain’s Incatema Consulting, the plant has the capacity to process 2.5 tonnes of tomatoes and 750kg of dried bananas an hour. The 165 staff operators were trained in Spain and Angola. The crucial role played by process plants such as these is that they absorb excess produce, especially from small farmers. This gives them an incentive to grow greater volumes and gain a more secure income, and also reduces wastage. A key component of the project was the arrival of electricity from the renovation of the Mabubas Dam in June 2012. The dam now has 25.6MW capacity compared to 17.8MW two decades ago just before it stopped operating. Mabubas is initially also supplying Luanda and Caxito but will later extend power deliveries to the rest of Bengo. Until now the region had been using expensive diesel generators to make up for the energy shortage. The fertility of Bengo’s soils is impressive. Agrolider’s 350-hectare farming operations in Caxito also produce papaya, melons, water melons and eggplants. The company plans to grow dessert grapes, mangoes, oranges and tangerines at the site. Agrolider has another 145-hectare plantation at Bom Jesus where it produces bananas, mangoes and grapes. Bengo’s attractiveness as a place to produce and process fruit has not been
Angoflex spoolbase, Barra do Dande
lost on foreign companies. Ghana’s ambassador visited the province recently and said Ghanaian company Blue Skies planned to produce mango and pineapple concentrate for its juice brand. The ambassador added that a Ghanaian company was also considering setting up a tyre plant in Bengo. Coca-Cola has recently built a $36 million bottling plant at Bom Jesus alongside the Kwanza River. The factory not only has access to water but is well placed for accessing Angola’s main highways for its product distribution.
Tourism expansion Another money-spinner shared by Bengo, Icolo e Bengo, and especially Kissama, is tourism. These areas can be reached easily by new highways heading south and east from the capital. Kissama is home to Angola’s bestknown and most accessible wildlife park, while Icolo e Bengo contains the historic birthplace of Agostinho Neto, the country’s first president, at Kaxicane near Catete, and the national Christian shrine of Muxima. Both sites are picturesquely located alongside a wide section of the slow-moving Kwanza River. Also on the river the church of Our Lady of Muxima, reputedly a site of miracles, dates from the 16th century and is the object of pilgrimages, especially in September, when the faithful camp around the shrine. Muxima township is also overlooked by an imposing Portuguese colonial fort which affords dramatic views over the rich lands along the banks of the Kwanza. The fort was the scene of fighting between Dutch and Portuguese troops in the 17th century when the two maritime powers fought each other around the globe, from Brazil to the Far East. Access to Muxima was recently enhanced by the building of a new highway which includes Angola’s longest bridge at Cabala. Better communications from Luanda and the rest of the country to Muxima facilitated the arrival of an estimated 500,000 people to the shrine this year. The Bishop of Viana compared the
DECEMBER 2012 25
PROVINCE
popularity of the shrine to other Catholic pilgrim sites such as Lourdes in France, Fátima in Portugal and Aparecida in Brazil. Travelling north from Luanda, visitors enter Bengo province by crossing the Bengo River. The visitor’s first impression of Bengo is of its greenery, sparse population and densely-reeded lagoons which contrast sharply with nearby urban Luanda. The area around the reedy marshland lake of Panguila adjacent to the Bengo River boasts a population of black storks. These impressive birds use their wings as a cloak to shade their eyes while hunting their prey in the wetlands. Kingfishers and a wealth of other birds are easily spotted in the area, making it one of the most rewarding haunts for ornithologists in the Luanda region. Bengo’s coastline and lakes provide a variety of fish for tourists to savour. In Kissama, the area around Cabo Ledo is renowned for its lobster.
Regeneration
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Kissama National Park is a favourite tourist destination for Angolans and is especially popular among expatriates seeking a taste of the ‘real Africa’. The 10,000-squarekilometre park with a 120km coastline blessed with deserted beaches and a sea heaving with fish and crustaceans, has experienced a remarkable revival in its animal populations over the past 12 years
26 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
The church of Our Lady of Muxima, reputedly a site of miracles, dates from the 16th century and is the object of pilgrimages since President José Eduardo dos Santos reopened it. Three decades of poaching had decimated its wildlife stock, but today tourists can again visit the park with a very good chance of seeing several species of animals. The park owes its turnaround to ‘Operation Noah’s Ark’. This project involved reorganising the park administration and protecting the animal population by a more professional group of rangers. It also meant installing a 21km fence to separate a small special-conservation area in the extreme north of the park and bringing in excess numbers of animals from Botswana and South Africa. The conservation area is centred on the 50-bed tourist camp and restaurant at Caua. The first batches of animals included 35 elephants, eight elands, 12 wildebeests and 12 kudus. Later these were joined by dozens
of giraffes, zebras and hundreds of ostriches. Today all these populations are recovering fast and attracting more park visitors. The park also boasts a park-ranger training school, suggested by the German aid organisation GTZ. This helped train former soldiers and provide a civilian career opportunity. Around 140 rangers have been trained to date with assistance from the South African Wildlife College. An outstanding role in Kissama’s revival was played by former South African soldier turned park director Roland Goetz over a ten-year period. Angolan Miguel Savituma, who underwent onthe-job training as Goetz’s deputy and also attended courses abroad has now succeeded him. Future plans involve extending the special conservation area, securing it against poachers and reintroducing more wildlife such as roan and red buffalo. p
PROVINCE
Angola’s longest bridge – Cabala
Teunis Bakker
Brazuk Ltd
Brazuk Ltd
Kissama’s rich red soils
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Muxima on the Kwanza
Bengo’s iconic black stork DECEMBER 2012 27
FINANCE
PROLONGING ANGOLA’S OIL BENEFITS 28 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Verkhovynets Taras
Angola has launched a sovereign wealth fund and thus joined a prestigious list of resource-rich nations, which includes Norway and the United Arab Emirates. Universo reports k
FINANCE
Photoatelier
A
ngola has announced the setting up of a sovereign wealth fund. Fundo Soberano de Angola (FSDEA) will have a starting pot of $5 billion which will be channelled into a mix of domestic and international investments, with a focus on emerging Asian economies. The idea behind the fund is to use Angola’s oil revenues prudently, to ensure that the wealth of today lasts longer so that the country can enjoy the legacy benefits of its oil even when the crude has stopped flowing. By creating the FSDEA, Angola will also have a secondary buffer of capital reserves should the price of oil fall rapidly and create liquidity pressures on the economy as it did in 2009. The public unveiling of FSDEA in October is the culmination of four years of planning after President José Eduardo dos Santos first showed an interest in creating a sovereign wealth fund back in 2008. With headquarters in Luanda, the fund will manage a diverse investment portfolio made up of global private and public stocks, bonds, foreign currencies, financial derivatives, commodities, treasury bills and property and infrastructure funds. The sovereign wealth fund will be topped up on a monthly basis by an amount equivalent to the revenue from 100,000 barrels of oil per day. FSDEA representatives say it will publish all its accounts so that people can monitor the money flow. Switzerland-based Quantum Global Investment Management, which already works with Banco Nacional de Angola, Angola’s central bank, has been appointed as the initial liquidasset manager, although more financial houses are expected to come on board in due course. The FSDEA’s board of directors is made up of its chairman Armando Manuel, who is also Secretary for Economic Affairs in the Angolan government, and two other members: José Filomeno de Sousa dos Santos, a former board member at Banco Kwanza Invest, and Hugo Miguel Évora Gonçalves, previously of Standard Bank. “Angola is rich in natural resources, but we understand that these are finite, so it is imperative that the wealth they generate is used to support the country’s social and economic development,” said Manuel.
Armando Manuel
“Angola is rich in natural resources, but we understand that these are finite, so it is imperative that the wealth they generate is used to support the country’s social and economic development” – Armando Manuel DECEMBER 2012 29
FINANCE
“As an investment institution operating as a sovereign wealth fund, the FSDEA seeks to secure long-term sustainable financial returns that will positively impact the lives of the people of Angola now and in the future.” José Filomeno de Sousa dos Santos, who attended the FSDEA’s launch, which received international media coverage from outlets including the New York Times and CNN, said: “The launch of the FSDEA is a historic moment for Angola, as the government continues to transform and grow the country’s economy. “The FSDEA recognises that there are still considerable challenges facing the country. However, we are committed to promoting social and economic development by investing in projects that create opportunities which will positively impact the lives of all Angolans today and generate wealth for future generations.” He added, in a subsequent interview, that the FSDEA would be paying particular attention to emerging economies, especially those in Asia. “We will be looking at emerging economies as a very interesting target because we believe that returns there are very attractive. Going forward, in terms of investments, we would look to always hire the best investment capacity possible, and Asia has a lot of potential.” News of the FSDEA’s launch has excited global markets and boosted Angola’s already growing reputation as an African economic powerhouse.
In a statement, global ratings agency Fitch, which in May upgraded Angola from BB- to BB+, said: “Angola’s decision to set up a sovereign wealth fund is positive news. It reaffirms our view that government policies are reducing the economy’s exposure to movements in the oil price, and laying a foundation for sustainable growth.” The agency noted that the FSDEA could contribute to a further upgrade if it were coupled with a longer track record of prudent fiscal and monetary policy management, and that if the fund led to better management and utilisation of windfall oil revenues it could boost long-term GDP growth. Although President dos Santos will be ultimately responsible for deciding investment policies, the FSDEA’s board is fully autonomous and will oversee its own activities. The FSDEA will also have a separate fiscal council to ensure that all laws and regulations are being followed and will be subject to annual and independent audits. For further oversight, a four-member advisory board will be set up consisting of the Minister of Finance, Carlos Alberto Lopes, the Minister of Economy, Abrahão Pio dos Santos Gourgel, the Minister of Planning and Territorial Development, Job Graça, and the governor of Banco Nacional de Angola, José de Lima Massano. Transparency has been placed at the heart of the FSDEA, which will be run according to the internationally-recognised Santiago Principles, a code of conduct
developed by the International Working Group of Sovereign Wealth Funds. The principles are based on maintaining a stable global financial system and the free flow of capital and investment; compliance with applicable regulatory and disclosure requirements in the countries where investments are made; making investments based on return-related considerations; and ensuring a sound governance structure that provides for adequate operational controls, risk management and accountability. As well as investing outside Angola in high-return long-yield funds, the FSDEA will also spend money closer to home to help support the country’s ongoing infrastructure needs in areas such as agriculture, water, power generation and transport. The FSDEA has also identified the need to help promote Angola as a destination for overseas investment. At the sovereign wealth fund’s launch, it was announced there would be a focus on the hospitality sector in a bid to create more hotel capacity and improve the skills of local labour in the industry. There is a longer-term plan to create an Angolan hotel school which the FSDEA hopes will one day become the leading hospitality establishment on the African continent.
For more information about the FSDEA go to www.fundosoberano.ao p
Africa sovereign wealth funds Country
Sovereign wealth fund name
Libya
Libyan Investment Authority
Botswana
Pula Fund
Algeria
Nigeria Gabon
Mauritania
Revenue Regulation Fund
Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority Gabon Sovereign Wealth Fund
National Fund for Hydrocarbon Reserves
Equatorial Guinea Fund for Future Generations Source: SWF Institute
30 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Assets $bn
Inception
Origin
65.0
2006
Oil
6.9
1994
Diamonds & minerals
1998
Oil
56.7 1.0 0.4 0.3
0.08
2000 2011 2006 2002
Oil Oil
Oil & gas Oil
FINANCE
Other leading sovereign wealth funds 13
04
02 08
18 05
14
10 09
17 12
16
07
06
15 01
03
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
11
Australia.....................................................................................................The Future Fund Azerbaijan................................................... State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan Botswana..............................................................................................................Pula Fund Canada..................................................................... Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund China.................................................................................. China Investment Corporation Gabon................................................................................. Gabon Sovereign Wealth Fund Equatorial Guinea..................................................................Fund for Future Generations Korea.................................................................................. Korea Investment Corporation Kuwait................................................................................... Kuwait Investment Authority Libya....................................................................................... Libyan Investment Authority New Zealand..............................................................New Zealand Superannuation Fund Nigeria...............................................................Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority Norway......................................................................... Government Pension Fund-Global Qatar.........................................................................................Qatar Investment Authority East Timor.............................................................................Timor-Leste Petroleum Fund Singapore....................................................................................Temasek Holding Pte Ltd United Arab Emirates......................................................Abu Dhabi Investment Authority United States................................................................................ Alaska Permanent Fund DECEMBER 2012 31
ENVIRONMENT
32 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
OF THE WILD
FRONTIERS One of the largest conservation areas in the world is taking shape in Angola’s southeastern region. Universo eyes the developments By Lula Ahrens
Wildebeest make a leap of faith DECEMBER 2012 33
Paul Banton
KINGDOM
ENVIRONMENT
T
he Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (Kaza) is an extraordinary intergovernmental effort to create a wildlife park across huge swathes of land where Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe converge. The aim is to protect the biodiversity and culture in this corner of southern Africa without regard to borders. Angola owns the second-biggest slice of the proposed protected area, which at 444,000sq km is the size of Sweden. Kaza is named after the two largest river systems that drain the region, the Okavango and Zambezi. The area is home to the world’s biggest elephant population and a wealth of other endangered plant and animal species. The project is not only about the welfare of the flora and fauna. Kaza member countries are expecting an explosion of tourism in the area, which will hopefully boost socio-economic development and conserve local cultures. Angola is responsible for the secondlargest section of the area, some 90,000sq km. This covers the Luiana Partial Reserve, the Mavinga Partial Reserve, and the Longa-Mavinga, Luengue, Luiana and Mucusso hunting areas. Kuando Kubango province forms the
project’s starting point in Angola. From there, it crosses the border to Botswana and continues towards Botswana’s Okavango Delta. “The vast wilderness of Angola’s Luiana and Luenge national parks and adjacent areas with near-pristine wildlife habitats offers unexploited tourism development potential,” Kaza director Dr Victor Siamudaala told Universo when asked to name Angola’s most vital contribution to the project, adding that “Angola’s unique culture and cuisine, too, are particularly attractive to tourists.”
Kaza was officially launched in March 2012 at the Namibian town of Katima Mulilo. The project is jointly administered by the governments of the five partner countries and is supported by various international donors. The co-ordinating role of Kaza rotates biannually between the five nations. “For five countries to come together and decide to mutually conserve their natural resources in a sustainable way and benefit local communities and eventually reduce rural poverty is truly admirable,” said Dr Siamudaala.
Official birth
Elephants
The first steps of the Kaza project date back to the 1990s, with the establishment of the Okavango Upper Zambezi Tourism Initiative funded through the South African Development Community. The project failed to take off and was succeeded by others, until the foundation stone of the current Kaza scheme was laid in December 2006 when the five member countries signed a memorandum of understanding. Its formal establishment took place in August 2011 when the leaders of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe signed the Kaza Treaty in Luanda, at the closing ceremony of the 31st SADC (Southern African Development Community) Summit.
One of the most spectacular aspects of the Kaza project is that it will harbour the largest contiguous population of the African elephant (around 250,000) on the continent. Southern Africa’s elephants face two important issues: poaching – they are much sought after for their ivory – and overpopulation in areas where they infringe on farmland. Botswana drew up a plan in 1990, which put the maximum number of elephants the country could handle at 60,000. But because culling was controversial and Botswana wanted to avoid international condemnation, it allowed numbers to grow. There are now some 150,000 elephants in Botswana, which are in dire need of an alternative habitat. Zambia, and in particular the Angolan province of Kuando Kubango, offer a way of diluting these populations through Kaza ‘transfrontier corridors’ or protected tracts of land. Angola’s 199,049sq km Kuando Kubango province will make up a major portion of the reserve. After four decades of independence and civil war, which ended in 2002, it had only around 140,000 people living there. The conflict took a heavy toll on the province’s wildlife, as elephant ivory was sold to buy weapons and other wild animals served as food for soldiers and farmers. Now Kaza offers Kuando Kubango a promising new future. With its continuing landmine clearance campaigns, the province could provide a vast new home for Botswana’s superfluous elephant population.
“For five countries to come together and decide to mutually conserve their natural resources in a sustainable way and benefit local communities and eventually reduce rural poverty is truly admirable” – Dr Victor Siamudaala 34 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Mark Clydesdale BZO Simon Greig
wollemipine
Eland antelope, a native of the Okavango region DECEMBER 2012 35
ENVIRONMENT
The Khoisan
Cultural treasures
Kuando Kubango province is also home to Angola’s Khoisan community, descendants of Sub-Saharan Africa’s first inhabitants, often referred to as ‘Bushmen.’ They offer a prime example of the cultural wealth the Kaza area holds. Right in the middle of the Namibe Desert lies a large area with Khoisan cave paintings, some of which can be traced back to the Stone Age. They are considered among Angola’s most beautiful prehistoric collections of cave art. Sadly, the Khoisan are at risk of extinction. Only a few populations still survive in southwest Africa. Recent estimates show that of the 100,000 Khoisan left on the African continent, barely 5,000 live in southern Angola. In Angola the Khoisan are supported by the Association for Environmental Conservation and Integrated Development (Acadir) and are funded by USAID, the US Agency for International Development, which focuses on family income, water supply and the sustainable management of natural resources. Acadir projects cover the municipalities of Cuangar, Calai, Dirico, Menongue and Savate in Kuando Kubango. The organisation aims to improve the often marginalised Khoisan communities’ access to housing, drinking water, education and legal documentation as well as tackling poaching and deforestation. At least 725 Koishan have reportedly already benefited from these efforts through donations of cattle, ploughs and seeds.
The Khoisan are not the only community receiving ongoing support. It is estimated that up to 2.5 million people live within the Kaza area. The partner countries want these communities to benefit directly from the Kaza initiative, even if the number one objective is saving the plant and wildlife. “The Kaza area is not aimed at exploiting any given culture or community,” said Dr Siamudaala. Quite the contrary: “It provides a platform for communities to benefit from tourism.” Many other communities in the Kaza area, apart from the Khoisan, tend to be vulnerable, suffering higher levels of poverty, illiteracy, underdevelopment and declining agricultural productivity. As a result, they inadvertently place a
great strain on the sustainability of their natural resources. Kaza efforts focus on ending community conflicts with wild animals, which sometimes damage cultivated land during their migrations, resulting in loss of livelihoods and sometimes even in the killing of humans. According to Kaza, tourist development can provide these communities with alternative sources of income. Kaza acts as a watchdog for community rights and management of natural resources and their agreements with the private sector. Kaza also oversees their generation of income from development projects. All of this helps the partner countries’ efforts in reaching their United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
Kaza efforts focus on ending community conflicts with wild animals, which sometimes damage cultivated land during their migrations, resulting in loss of livelihoods and sometimes even in the killing of humans
More information If you would like more visual information on what the Kaza project entails, watch the award-winning documentary Creating a Climate for Change. This 35-minute film on the impact of climate change in southern Africa was cofunded by the Open Society Initiative for southern Africa and first shown at the UN Convention on Climate Change in Durban in 2011. It illustrates how locally-driven solutions can be devised and successfully implemented in some of the worst affected areas, and devotes quite some time to the Kaza area project. www.kavangozambezi.org
36 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
DECEMBER 2012 37
Eric Lafforgue
Okavango-Zambezi: home to the nomadic Khoisan
Leslie Crookes
ENVIRONMENT
An African leopard lounges in a tree
EcoPrint
38 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
A hippo at sunset
Gerrit de Vries
Portrait of a waterbuck
Jiri Haureljuk
ENVIRONMENT
Okavango delta
Natural wealth The total Kaza area will include 36 national parks, game reserves and community conservation areas. It boasts stunning tourist attractions such as the Okavango Delta in Botswana, which is the largest Ramsar (wetland of international importance) site in the world. It is home to the Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River between Zimbabwe and Zambia, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Kaza encompasses one of the world’s largest salt flats, the Makgadikgadi Pans in Botswana, covering an area almost the size of Portugal, in the midst of desert, and Lake Kariba in Zambia and Zimbabwe, the world’s largest artificial lake. In addition, the region comprises various types of woodland, grassland and wetlands, supporting its high biodiversity. Elephants are not the only ones who will profit from the wildlife corridors. Kaza is home to Africa’s charismatic Big Five:
elephant, leopard, rhino, buffalo and lion. Other rare, vulnerable and endangered wildlife species in the area include the cheetah, black rhino, African wild dog, sable and roan antelope, puku, oribi, honey badger and wattled crane. The cape vulture, major populations of buffalo, hippo, lechwe, eland, zebra, wildebeest, waterbuck and bushbuck can also be spotted in the area, as can the sitatunga, hunting dog, spotted hyena, and numerous other southern African animal species. White rhino may be found in small numbers in the Okavango Delta area. Kaza also boasts at least 3,000 plant species, 600 southern African bird species, 2,645 flora species, 128 species of reptiles, 50 species of amphibians, almost 300 butterfly species and a great variety of sea mammals.
Tourist magnet Not surprisingly, given OkavangoZambezi’s many assets, the region is set to be southern Africa’s top tourist destination.
Ecotourists can indulge in discovering the region’s plants, trees and wildlife. Kaza’s tremendous diversity of ethnic groups along with the promotion of indigenous knowledge, and the establishment of cultural villages and national heritage sites, will no doubt entice cultural tourists as well. Numerous lodges and camping sites already exist across Kaza, mostly along the Okavango and Zambezi rivers. New tourist accommodation will be built, especially in south-east Angola (including Kuando Kubango) and western Zambia. The Angolan Ministry of Hotels and Tourism has already given the go-ahead for accommodation work in Kuando Kubango. Dr Siamudaala told Universo that the Kaza countries are streamlining their visa requirements for the region. “Where possible, they will develop a tourist visa system limited to the Kaza area in order to allow for seamless travel of tourists within the area,” he said. p
DECEMBER 2012 39
D L O G IKES
Henrique Malungo, courtesy of BP Angola
TR S M A E T S IC P M Y L PARA
Members of Angola’s Paralympics squad received a warm welcome in Luanda on their return from London 2012. Team talisman José Armando Sayovo stunned the competition with a majestic display 40 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
A
ngola’s national Paralympics team returned to Luanda from the 2012 Paralympics in September, bringing the nation the present of a memorable gold medal win by charismatic blind athlete José Armando Sayovo. Sayovo won gold in the 400-metre distance race and followed this up with a bronze medal in the 200 metres for visually-impaired athletes (class T11) in the Games held in London between August 29 and September 9. Remarkably, he also narrowly missed out on another bronze medal in the 100 metres, having to settle for fourth place. “The Olympics are the highest point in the career of an athlete. Fortunately I reached this point in the competition,” said Sayovo. The other runners making up Angola’s Paralympic contingent – Octávio dos Santos, Esperança Gicasso and Maria da Silva – fell short of medal places but gave good accounts of themselves, surpassing personal records during the competition. Sayovo told the Angolan press that a memorable highlight of the trip was the support he received from the Angolan fans when he entered the Olympic Stadium in London.
Henrique Malungo, courtesy of BP Angola
Henrique Malungo, courtesy of BP Angola
SPORT
Track record Sayovo’s triumph was the athlete’s third consecutive appearance at the Games. His total tally is now eight medals and record times in the 100, 200 and 400 metres won during the last three Paralympics. What makes Sayovo’s achievement in London even more impressive is the fact that the man from Catabola, Bié province, is now a 40-year old veteran athlete. Sayovo currently leads the world Paralympic ranking in the 200 metres and 400 metres for visually-impaired athletes, according to the International Paralympic Committee. In the 400-metres category, Sayovo tops the list of 30 athletes with a time of 50.75 seconds, while he shares a time of 22.84 seconds with Brazil’s Daniel Silva in the 200 metres. Sayovo was awarded a prize of two million kwanzas ($20,951) by the Angolan Ministry of Youth and Sport in recognition of his feat. Sports Minister Gonçalves Manuel Muandumba said Sayovo was one of Angola’s greatest sportsmen and a symbol of Angolan sport who continued to raise the country and its flag beyond its borders. Deputy Sports Minister Albino José
da Conceição said that Paralympic sport was a living example of the government’s investment in its social-inclusion policy. José Sayovo “makes us feel citizens of the world with his achievements”, he added.
Sayovo’s future The Angolan Paralympic Committee has put forward Sayovo’s name to the United Nations for a possible role as a ‘good-will ambassador’ in promoting the cause of the disabled. The next Paralympic Games will be held in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. The big question for Angolans is: will Sayovo be there? Nobody is betting against another Sayovo appearance at the age of 44; after all, he surprised almost everyone by his success this time around. p
DECEMBER 2012 41
Sonangol news briefing
ZEE latest
Sonangol and Maersk oil find
■ Two more industrial units have been
James Jones Jr
added to the Sonangol-supported special economic zone (ZEE) in the Viana-Bengo. One unit, Indústria de Ferragens Lda, will manufacture 95,000 security locks of four different types and employ 102 workers. The second unit will produce galvanised products and have a staff of 29. The total number of enterprises now operating in the zone stands at 17 with a total workforce of 3,000. Another nine units are expected to start up by the end of this year. The scheme’s target is to have 53 units fully operational by 2014.
in Block 16 (Cabinda) in early October. The deepwater Caporolo-1 well showed a flow of up to 3,000 barrels per day in tests. “It’s the second discovery made in this block after Chissonga-1. The Caporolo-1 well was drilled at a sea depth of 1,235 metres and reached a total depth of 5,508 metres,” said Sonangol. Maersk is the block operator and has a 65% stake, while Sonangol P&P owns 20% and Brazil’s Odebrecht Oil & Gas Angola has the remaining 15%. Sonangol E.P. is the concession holder.
Sonangol Starfish returns Brazil block ■ Sonangol Starfish Oil & Gas and OGX Petróleo have returned their
licences to drill in two shallow offshore blocks to Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency (ANP). The blocks in the Santos Basin were deemed not as productive as the ones in deeper water. Sonangol Starfish returned its stake in Block BM-S-60 after a long drilling campaign that proved three times more expensive than estimated. Oil and gas were found but not in commercial quantities. Sonangol Starfish now aims to concentrate its efforts in north-east Brazil in the Potiguar (Rio Grande do Norte) and Recôncavo (Bahia) basins, according to Brazilian oil website Macaé Offshore.
42 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Malocha
■ Sonangol E.P. and partner Maersk Oil Angola announced another oil discovery
New fuel depot at Kuando Kubango
■ Oil Minister José Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos inaugurated
a new Sonangol fuel depot in Kuando Kubango province on August 25. He was accompanied by Sonangol E.P. board president Francisco Maria and other board members. Sonangol’s latest addition to its supply network will benefit provincial capital Menongue and other municipalities in the fast-developing region of south-east Angola. The fuel depot has storage capacity of 4,500 cubic metres, made up of 2,000m3 of diesel, 1,000m3 of petrol and 1,500m3 of aviation fuel. The facility also has storage space for 200 metric tonnes of LPG, enough to fill 4,000 12kg canisters a day.
Sonangol news briefing
Rio Oil and Gas Expo
■ Sonangol participated in the giant Rio Oil and Gas Expo and
conference held in Rio de Janeiro in September. More than 500 exhibitors were present at the Riocentro Exhibition & Convention centre located in the western district of Barra da Tijuca, the planned site of Brazil’s 2016 Olympic Games. The main theme of the Sonangol stand was the internationalisation of the company’s operations, so subsidiary Sonangol Starfish Oil & Gas was the focus of attention. Joaquim Leite da Costa, president of Sonangol Starfish, said the event surpassed expectations and gave greater exposure to Starfish, and was also an excellent opportunity for promoting Sonangol around the world.
Sonangol grants Team Schlesser 500 scholarships denied World Cup win ■ Sonangol E.P. has made 500 scholarships available for
degree studies abroad for courses in geosciences, engineering and technology as well as applied social sciences. The objective is to meet the future needs of Angola’s oil industry for qualified personnel. Angola’s Higher Polytechnic Institute of Science and Technology (ISPTEC) will manage the selection process of candidates.
■ Team Sonangol Schlesser recorded another win in the two-
wheel-drive category race in the Baja Poland cross-country rally championship in early September. However, a few weeks later with the title within its grasp, the team failed to win the World Cup 2WD in the Pharaons Rally held in Egypt from September 29 to October 6. Team Sonangol Schlesser was disqualified from the rally on a technical irregularity because an air-intake duct was deemed slightly too large.
DECEMBER 2012 43
LONDON REGENERATION SONANGOL LTD TURNS THIRTY
Tony Hill
44 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
As London-based Sonangol Ltd approaches its 30th anniversary in February 2013, Universo looks at its crucial role in marketing Angola’s oil and the aspirations of new CEO Sandra Júlio
S
onangol’s light, tastefullydecorated offices, tucked away in a side street in the shadow of the world-famous Harrods department store in London’s West End, have seen huge changes over the past three decades in the company and in Angola’s fortunes. When Sonangol Ltd was established in 1983, it represented a largely unheard-of company in world oil markets. It traded low volumes of oil for low prices from a country little-known but for conflict. Today, Angola is in its tenth year of peace, enjoys an upbeat economy with high growth rates and has raised its oil output tenfold. Sonangol’s London team deserves particular credit for making a significant contribution to improving the reputation of the company and the country. “Sonangol Ltd is the front office of Sonangol E.P.,” says trading and marketing manager, Luis Neves, who has been in the London office for eight years out of his 14-year Sonangol career. He took on his present position in January 2012. Neves says his job title is a little misleading, as his role has more to do with marketing than with trading. Marketing is the core activity of Sonangol Ltd. But, the London office’s functions also go some way beyond this. “We publicise Angola’s image and we’re proud of our 30 years here. Sonangol is seen as a good brand. Everybody knows it now. We’re proud to be Angolan and African,” he enthuses. Another role the London office performs, says Neves, includes facilitating investment. Sonangol’s creditworthiness helps financial institutions view Angola and Angolan companies more positively. This has proved especially important for the nation’s economy. It has enabled Angola to be seen as a country where one can do business and also find trustworthy partners. Sonangol Ltd’s finance manager, Pankaj Agarwala, a 16-year veteran in the London office, agrees. “The office
has played a huge role and has had a great impact on Sonangol as a whole and on Angola, as oil was, and still is, its main source of earnings. Sonangol never defaults on loans, and this has given the company and Angola reputational gains.” Neves also represents Sonangol on OPEC’s economics commission, giving further evidence of the company’s improved international profile. “It’s an honour and it gives Angola more impact abroad,” he explains. According to Neves, the challenges ahead for marketing Sonangol’s oil will be in the decline of purchases by what was previously its largest client, the United States. While China is now Angola’s largest client and the US is in second place, the latter’s likely self-sufficiency by 2030 could dent international sales and hit oil prices. In preparation for this, Angola must seek alternative markets, he says.
How Sonangol’s trading operations work Two months before Sonangol sells its crude oil, representatives of its offices meet and decide upon the likely volume available and their pricing strategy. A programme is then produced with the prices, the different oil ‘streams’ or oil quality types for sale, and which of Angola’s terminals will be used for loading. Approximate time slots for the vessel to start the operation are also given. The role of the London, Singapore and Houston offices is to oversee the contract and the loading operation. Once a purchase has been agreed,
the operator works out contract details: the designation of a vessel for loading, documentation, letters of credit and demurrage details (penalties for delays). Payment for the oil is due after 30 days. It is up to the buyer to find and lease a vessel to collect the cargo on an agreed date. This can sometimes prove tricky as crude tankers may be two to three weeks’ sailing time away from Angola and have to be able to reach the terminals in time. Tankers are costly to run, and failure to meet a time slot can result in a hefty delay fee for the buyer. Each million-barrel cargo usually takes around 24 hours to load. The oil is sold for delivery on a schedule based on an almost constant flow of oil through Sonangol’s 15 terminals. If Sonangol fails to honour the loading time slot, then it may be hit by a contractual demurrage fee. Sonangol’s role now is to make sure the loading facility operates promptly, efficiently and has space for other loadings. One operator skill is in matching the buyer to a delivery date. The trader must try to get the best possible price for the oil. Market knowledge and experience is essential as buyers are offered oil from many producers and new fields in the same region, so Angola must compete. Angola has the advantage of geography for its shipping operations, as it is on the main route from the Middle East to Europe. Here an empty tanker may often be available on its return to the Gulf. This can then be leased to pick up a lucrative return cargo, known as ‘backhaul’. The
‘Sonangol is seen as a good brand; everybody knows it’ – Luis Neves
DECEMBER 2012 45
Sonangol news briefing
Luis Neves: Trading & Marketing Manager
Sonangol Ltd values Customer satisfaction Performance Effective communication Team working Ethical conduct Respect for diversity Quality, Health, Safety & Environment (QHSE) 46 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
tanker could then take Angolan oil to a Far East customer and thus be closer to its destination port, having earned an extra fee on its way home. Sonangol Ltd’s four-strong operations team is led by Uíge-born manager Solange Verdade. Verdade has been in the oil industry for over 20 years, having previously worked at Elf Aquitaine and Sonangol’s US operations in Houston. Verdade says her role is to make sure crude loadings and discharge operations (of refined products) run smoothly. The main types of problems the operations team have to deal with are late vessel arrivals, low inventories and mechanical failures. “You have to be organised and active, and be able to anticipate problems and respond quickly,” she explains. “Touch wood, there have been no big incidents.” Sonangol’s offices in London, Houston and Singapore ensure operations are overseen 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Operations teams are always vigilant. “The task needs continuity, so we don’t take all our annual leave in one go. You can’t be offline too long,” says Verdade. Verdade’s British-born deputy, Stephen Booth, has been with Sonangol for 12 years and has a background in shipping design and cargo inspection. He notes that Angola’s expanding oil output has meant there are now more cargoes to keep an eye on. Another member of Verdade’s team is operations coordinator Jorge Assis, who hails from Benguela. Assis started his career with Total working as an offshore manager, optimising production and logistics and ensuring safety. “We make sure the contract is observed correctly, protect Angola’s interests and oversee the terminal-customer interface and check that payment is made on the due date,” he explains. In his offshore days, Assis was involved directly with much larger numbers of staff, as many as 500, but now works in an office with fewer than 30. “The dimensions are smaller, but it’s of much bigger importance for the company,” he says with a smile.
Some company history Former managing director José Carlos de Castro Paiva played a key role in developing Sonangol Ltd over nearly 30 years until his retirement at the beginning of 2012. Paiva says he faced three major challenges on taking up his post, the ‘terrible trio’ of low oil production, low prices and war. The company has left each of these negative factors far behind. Paiva remembers early days at Sonangol Ltd when traded volumes were relatively low and a barrel of oil fetched a mere $6.70. Angola is now a medium-sized producer and oil is currently hovering above $105 a barrel, having peaked at $145 in 2008. One of Paiva’s proudest achievements was his contribution to helping soothe the Angolan government’s financial problems during the heroic period of the country’s resistance to the military onslaught of apartheid South Africa. “We did contribute to keeping the country’s economy alive,” he remembers. Based on oil revenues, Sonangol was able to raise finance on London money markets from a figure of $200 million at the beginning to $2 billion some years later for the government’s treasury. “They were tremendous deals and achievements
Solange Verdade: Operations Manager
Sonangol news briefing
Sandra Júlio is a senior crude oil and LPG marketer at Sonangol. She started working for Sonangol in 1996 as a systems analyst, after graduating in Computer Science at the University of Salford near Manchester. In 1997 she was invited to work at Sonangol USA in Houston, Texas, as a network administrator and assistant to the crude oil operations manager. Before joining the team in Houston, she participated on a training programme with Citizens Resources in Boston, Coastal in Houston and Equator Bank in Connecticut. While working at Sonangol USA she was involved in various projects, created the first Sonangol crude oil operations database, and was involved in setting up the new HQ in Houston. In 2003 she moved to London to work for the crude oil operations department. In 2005, when Sanha LPG started production, the company appointed her to be part of the LPG marketing joint venture team at Chevron to get experience in the business. After two years she returned to Sonangol and helped establish the LPG sector at the trading department, and started marketing Angolan crude and LPG. She also participated in a training programme for traders with BP and came out as the top trainee. Sandra Júlio became the first Angolan female trader inside Sonangol. As a crude oil and LPG trader, she has been involved in various marketing projects, contracts negotiations, setting up the new gas department inside the company, marketing crude oil and LPG cargoes and training new employees to develop knowledge in marketing crude oil and gas. In January 2012 Sandra Júlio was appointed president and chief executive of Sonangol Ltd.
Adrian Safranek
Sandra Júlio
Sandra Júlio: President & CEO
‘We want Sonangol to be internationally recognised as a successful and reputable oil and gas trading and marketing company’ – Sandra Júlio DECEMBER 2012 47
Sonangol news briefing
OIL & GAS
as it was incredibly difficult to get finance then,” he recalls. Another source of pride for Paiva has been the growth of Sonangol Ltd’s reputation for professionalism and transparency. It has always repaid its London bankers, and they helped spread the word about Angola’s creditworthiness. The financial markets’ confidence in Angola has risen exponentially and it enjoys much more favourable interest rates as its high-risk rating has long since declined. The company today is now one of Africa’s outstanding oil producers. “Sonangol has no African comparison. The market says that,” Paiva points out enthusiastically. José Paiva: former Managing Director
Pankaj Agarwala: Finance Manager
Building a legacy One of Sonangol Ltd’s ingredients to its success has been the slow turnover of staff, a sure sign of employee satisfaction. Paiva, Ceri Evans and recently-retired trader Andy Whitrow have clocked up more than a quarter of a century each at the office, and several younger members of staff are already into their second decade. A contented workforce generates dividends at the client interface. Customers are always happy to deal with the same people as it helps build the trust involved in any long-term relationship. Getting the right people for the job on board in the first place, and then keeping them, has been very important for building the company’s reputation. Supply and logistics manager Ceri Evans, who joined Sonangol’s London operations in May 1983, describes his oilselling task simply as “turning brown stuff into green stuff”. He brought a wealth of experience
to the office, having worked for BP for 14 years, ten of those on the marketing side. Evans believes the most important company legacy built up over the past 30 years, apart from selling as much oil as possible, is its culture of client care. “We look after clients; we recognise the value of term relationships, behave as a major and follow a deal to the letter. We’re considerate and flexible in approach but don’t lose focus on the process,” he explains. “Clients talk to the same people in the office, know their first names, and these people do what they say they will do, and that builds trust and gives an element of stability in the relationship.” Evans also believes the best preparation for Sonangol Ltd’s future is to make sure that it loses none of the knowledge acquired over the past decades.
Looking to the future The London office is now undergoing a period of transition as a new chief executive takes her place at its head and Sonangol Ltd comes under the responsibility of Sonaci. Sandra Júlio was appointed president and chief executive of Sonangol Ltd at the beginning of 2012, succeeding the longserving José Paiva. A tribute to the cohesion at the London office is that Júlio herself was promoted through the ranks of that office. Júlio won a scholarship and joined a Sonangol training scheme in 1991. She studied Computer Science at Salford University and also spent one year at accountants Coopers & Lybrand’s Lisbon office. Júlio was one of the four pioneers to open Sonangol’s Houston office in 1997. Her move to the company’s London office came in 2003 on a rotation
‘Sonangol has become one of Africa’s outstanding oil companies’ Ceri Evans: Supply & Logistics Manager
48 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
– José Paiva
& GAS Sonangol newsOIL briefing
Why London? London was the obvious first-choice site for Sonangol’s first major overseas office. It is the world’s largest oil trading market and a leading financial centre where banks could be easily contacted to arrange credit for its oil sales. The city is also home to the world’s largest shipping and insurance market and so plays an important role in providing cover for oil tankers and oil operations. In the early 1980s, around 85 per cent of Angola’s oil sales were to the United States, but most of these companies bought their oil via their London branch offices. An added advantage for Sonangol is that the UK is in the same time zone as Luanda, so its daily operations fit in well with the working day of Sonangol’s head office. For 14 years London was Sonangol’s only overseas office. In 1997, as Angola’s oil production increased, Sonangol USA was founded and opened offices in Houston, Texas. This office was tasked with handling new clients in the region. Sonangol opened a Singapore office in 2003 to cater for customers in the fast-expanding Far East markets, especially China and India. There has been a marked shift in Angola’s oil markets: Demand in the United States is falling, China has become Angola’s largest single customer, and Angola is China’s leading supplier. Sonangol Ltd in London and its sister offices in Singapore and Houston have a mutually beneficial relationship. Each provides operational advantages to the others as they share their workload. Individual oil operations enjoy round-the-clock support as the three offices can serve them through three major time zones. The offices have a flexible and informal relationship with each other and between sellers and buyers, so no one office assumes a geographic territory. The workload of supporting contracts is fairly divided between the three offices. Sonangol sells approximately 27 individual one million barrel-loads of oil a month, so each overseas offices handles roughly nine loads a month. Since October there has been an organisational reshuffle at Sonangol, and the three international offices are now under the umbrella directorship of Sonangol Comercialização Internacional (Sonaci) headed by Ruth da Costa David.
Quality coordination Kevin Stearns, Sonangol Ltd’s office manager is a former British soldier, and in his 15 years of service he was involved in logistics operations. Stearns brings to the company a mind-set of tight process discipline and observance that is an essential ingredient for operational success. Since London gained ‘sister offices’ in Houston and Singapore, process uniformity in quality and implementation has become even more important as the three offices cooperate continuously. There are hand-overs when overseeing individual ship loadings as part of their 24-hour service provision. In order to attain service uniformity, Stearns has been heavily involved in implementing a programme of ISO certification. The aim of certification is continuous service improvement, and the three offices are encouraged to audit each other’s compliance with process schedules to attain this goal. Sonangol Ltd gained its first ISO certification in 2009 and is currently in the process of recertification and upgrading to even higher standards. Kevin Stearns: Office Manager
DECEMBER 2012 49
Sonangol news briefing Sonangol’s consumers 06
05
07 08
04
09 03
10
11
12 02
13 14
01
China..................................... 50.86
02
India......................................... 8.77
03
Taiwan..................................... 5.10
04
US East Coast......................... 4.53
05
US Gulf Coast......................... 4.50
06
South Africa............................ 4.11
07
Angola..................................... 3.45
08
US West Coast........................ 2.91
09
UK............................................ 2.81
10
Portugal................................... 2.75
11
Canada.................................... 2.72
12
Spain........................................ 2.71
13
Italy.......................................... 1.07
14
Peru......................................... 1.00
15
France...................................... 0.68
16
Holland.................................... 0.68
17
US Atlantic Coast................... 0.67
18
Sweden.................................... 0.35
19
Thailand................................... 0.32
15 16 17 18 19
01
Jorge Assis: Operations Coordinator
50 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
programme. Júlio later spent two more years working in Chevron when the innovative Sanha liquefied petroleum gas project started up, this time for Chevron as an LPG trader. Sanha, off the coast of Cabinda, was the world’s first dedicated floating LPG production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility. Júlio returned to Sonangol’s London office in 2007 when she was appointed crude oil and LPG trader. Sonangol Ltd’s environment has changed markedly since its foundation 30 years ago and there are new challenges ahead for the youthful Júlio as she leads the company’s largest overseas office forward. Júlio says it is a big advantage to have known Sonangol Ltd well before taking office as its chief executive. However, she is conscious that the company will have to face increasingly strong competition in the future. “So we have to keep up and improve
our portfolio of clients, offer better services and be proactive,” she says. “Previously, Angola just sold its oil assets. Now we want to trade other grades, increase the volume of trading activity, not only of Angolan oil grades but also other non-Angolan grades”. The result of this will be to have a larger portfolio of oil grades to offer clients. She points out that there is no problem with Angola’s current grades as refiners are more flexible, especially China and India, which have a broad range of refineries. There is a good demand for Angolan grades. A Sonangol sea-change in recent years has been the shift away from selling to North American markets, which used to take over 70 per cent of Angola’s oil, to China as its main client. The US is seen as a declining oil-import market and one of Angola’s challenges is to compete for new markets to replace it. Júlio is adamant that London’s
Sonangol news briefing
Sonangol Limited
Sonangol Limited
President & CEO
Merevale House, Brompton Place, London SW3 1QE
Sonacare
Trading Department
Operations Department
Finance Department
Administration Department
‘International oil and gas trading will invigorate Sonangol’s marketing activity’ – Sandra Júlio primacy as a location for Sonangol Ltd is unlikely to be challenged in the near future. “It’s an important office and the first overseas office of Sonangol. We’ve been here since 1983. London is the world’s largest oil trading hub and a leading financial and business centre. We’re in the same time zone as Luanda and we’re central. We’re also near our banks, financial institutions and clients, since most trading companies have
www.sonangol.co.ao
IT Department
representatives in London. I believe we have better access to them in the UK. We also have good professionals in-house.” Sonangol Ltd has long been considered the company’s front office and Angola’s window on the world. This has proved especially important for the country’s economy. It has enabled Angola to be seen as a country where one can do business and also find trustworthy partners. It is now very well respected, considered one of the best African companies and a first-class supplier.
Supply & Logistics Department
In the future, staff training, especially of Angolans, is high up Júlio’s agenda. At the moment she is the only Angolan female that can trade oil and LPG. Sonangol Ltd has only seven Angolans out of its 27 employees. Júlio says she would love to see more Angolans gaining experience in the marketing and trading business. “I’d like to see more Angolans involved in the crude-oil supply chain, from exploration and production of crude oil to trading, refining and retail markets,” she says. With this in mind Sonangol Ltd, in conjunction with Sonaci and Sonangol associates, is preparing several exciting training programmes for its new staff including many Angolans. “We also want to promote more rotation among the Angolans working in the trading units, so that they gain more experience in other markets,” she explains. Sonangol Ltd’s new chief executive describes her mission as acting as an agent for Sonaci to market and trade oil and gas products while offering clients competitive and value-maximising solutions. “We want Sonangol to be internationally recognised as a successful and reputable oil and gas trading and marketing company,” she says. All the signs indicate that Sandra Júlio, backed by her highly-professional team, should maintain Sonangol Ltd’s legacy and the company’s good reputation for professionalism and transparency. p
DECEMBER 2012 51