The President of the Republic of Angola, João Gonçalves Lourenço, met with Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi in Luanda to review ongoing activities in Angola and explore new areas of cooperation. The Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, was also in attendance.
During the meeting, Mr. Descalzi provided an update on Azule Energy, the joint venture between Eni and bp and the largest equity producer in Angola. The discussion focused on the West Hub Integrated development, including the Agogo and Ndungu discoveries, and the progress of the New Gas Consortium (NGC). The NGC is a pioneering initiative in Angola aimed at developing non-associated gas fields to increase domestic gas availability and boost LNG production for export, thereby enhancing the country’s energy security.
The NGC will utilize gas from the discoveries of Quiluma and Maboqueiro, along with other future developments. Additionally, they discussed Azule’s technical support for the Luanda refinery, which includes a study to implement a bio-refinery within the existing complex, leveraging Eni’s processes and technologies.
The status of the Caraculo Photovoltaic project in the Namibe region was also reviewed. The first 25MW plant has been operational since May last year, with a second plant currently under development.
Mr. Descalzi highlighted Eni’s efforts in decarbonization and sustainable energy transition, emphasizing their positive impact on employment and economic diversification. They discussed Eni’s progress in producing agri-feedstock for bio-refining, aiming to produce 100,000 tons of vegetable oil from cultivation on degraded land and cover crops over 150,000 hectares, involving over 100,000 farmers by 2030.
Furthermore, they reviewed the clean cooking project recently launched in Angola, which aims to provide more energy-efficient, reliable, and sustainable cooking solutions to families. According to Energy News Africa, the project has already reached 50,000 people and targets over 2 million people by 2030, reducing emissions and health risks associated with cooking.
Finally, Descalzi and President Lourenço examined initiatives in health, including capacity-building projects for approximately 900 health professionals, and sustainable development projects that enhance access to water, health promotion, education, social inclusion, economic diversification, energy access, and environmental protection, benefiting 500,000 Angolans.
