Angola’s new president has ordered a 30-day review of the nation’s oil industry to address the “significant” challenges it faces, his first foray into the key business since he took office last month.
President Joao Lourenco directed a working group to determine how it can “improve the current conditions of investment in the oil and gas industry,” and develop a “framework of cooperation” directly between the executive and oil companies.
The move, announced in a decree on October 13, came as Lourenco appointed Carlos Saturnino, a former head of Sonangol P&P, as secretary of state for oil. The president merged the ministries for oil and mining into one group, led by Diamantino Azevedo.
Sources told Reuters that Saturnino’s appointment signals a potential clash between the ministry and state oil company Sonangol, which is led by Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos. Earlier this week, dos Santos told a Reuters newsmaker event that Lourenco was in “full alignment” with her plans to transform Sonangol.
More from africanews.com
Date
Published : Monday, October 23, 2017