Angola’s Sonangol in 10-yr oil supply deal for China’s Sinochem

Angola is expanding its long-term sales to China of oil via a 10-year agreement between state-owned companies of the two nations, news agency Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Angolan state energy firm Sonangol recently sealed a deal to supply oil for Chinese oil and chemicals conglomerate Sinochem Group, the latter said in a statement. Sinochem did not give details on the value of the deal or the volumes involved. Reuters reported Sonangol would provide five shipments of oil per month to Sinochem.

Sonangol – which also has a long-term oil supply deal with another Chinese state firm, Unipec – provides in aggregate – prior to the latest deal – fewer than 15 shipments of oil a month for its long-term buyers, the news agency added. Currently Angola exports as much as half of its 1.7 million barrels per day of crude oil to China.

Angola’s Minister of Finance, Armando Manuel, and the President of China Development Bank, Zheng Zhijie, were present at the signing ceremony for the Sinochem deal.

Last year, China agreed to lend Sonangol US$2 billion for oil and gas projects, Reuters added.