Angola Could Partially List Oil Company Sonangol

Angola, Africa's second largest crude producer, could partially list state oil company Sonangol, a spokesman for the ministry of mineral resources and oil said on Thursday.

This follows comments by Mineral Resources and Oil Minister Diamantino Azevedo, reported by state newspaper Jornal de Angola, that any partial listing would only occur after June next year when a restructuring of the company is complete.

The Sonangol restructure includes spinning off non-core assets and separating regulatory responsibilities from the company to form a new petroleum agency.

"(Sonangol) shares on an exchange, in the future, it's a possibility," the ministry spokesman said in response to questions from Reuters. He added that no decision had yet been taken about what exchange might be used to float the shares.

Since João Lourenço became president in September 2017, he has moved to overhaul Sonangol and the wider oil industry.

Angola hopes the restructuring will help reverse a decline in oil output in the OPEC member by reducing bureaucracy and speeding up the pace at which company investments can be approved.

(Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Ed Stoddard and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

Related Stories