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SONANGOL UNIVERSO ISSUE 34 – JUNE 2012 

Universo 

JUNE 2012 

www.universo-magazine.com 

ELECTIONS 2012: 

August vote called 

Luanda Oil 

Conference 

HUÍLA DEAL: 

Province of promise 

JOBS AHOY: 

Life on the ocean waves 

INSIDE: 

oil and gas news

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: Mr. Simba 

Inside this issue 

Our June issue opens with a special report on a 

potential cornucopia of Angolan jobs from seafaring. 

We follow in the wake of young Angolans who have 

grasped the opportunities afforded by naval careers with 

the aim of becoming ships’ officers and perhaps eventually masters 

and commanders. 

Our second story introduces some of Angola’s veteran and up-andcoming 

writers and poets to an international public. We gain an insight into 

the issues that stimulate their work. 

Angola’s general election is the subject of our third main feature. 

We examine the processes involved in registering voters and mobilising the 

electorate for the August 31 ballot. 

Our fourth major story highlights the mushrooming economic growth 

of southern Angola’s Huíla province, where new infrastructure is helping to 

harvest a wealth of mineral and agricultural resources and realise government 

efforts to broaden the country’s economic base and create more jobs. 

John Kolodziejski 

Editor 48 

Contents 

2 SONANGOL UNIVERSO JUNE 2012 3 

Brazuk Ltd 

4 ANGOLA NEWS IN BRIEF 

EU Commission president visits Luanda; 

President dos Santos receives South Sudan 

minister; Angola raises school numbers; 

Education accord bears fruit; TAAG buys more 

Boeings; Angola’s project at Korea Expo 

6 CLIMBING INTO A MARITIME FUTURE 

14 ANGOLA’S LITERARY PROMISE 

20 CAPOEIRA: SALUTING AN 

ANGOLAN MASTER 

22 PREPARING FOR THE ELECTIONS 

28 HUÍLA: HEARTLAND OF 

DYNAMIC GROWTH 

36 LIVING LEGENDS IN CONCERT 

38 GOING FOR GOLD 

40 SONANGOL NEWS BRIEFING 

Raising standards; ARA presidency confirmed; 

Cabinda drilling starts; Block 31 production on 

track; Porto Amboim shipyard nears completion; 

Sonangol opts for renewable energy; SIIND adds 

industrial units at Viana; Sonaref pipeline plan; 

Tribute: Dr Serafim Araújo 

44 LNG: ANGOLAN GAS GOES 

TO MARKET 

48 OIL AND GAS EVENT SETS 

AGENDA FOR FUTURE 

IStock Photo 

20 

Pieter de Wulf 

36 

London 2012 

38 

Pierre François Photographie 

40 

Mr. Simba

Angola news briefing Angola news briefing 

Barroso visits Luanda 

■ José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, 

paid a three-day official visit to Angola in April aimed at 

strengthening co-operation with the European Union. 

Barroso said that he wished for increased dialogue between 

the EU and Angola at political and governmental levels, as well as 

between both societies. 

Angola raises 

school numbers 

■ The Angolan government has set the right 

to education, universal primary education and 

the democratisation of education as priorities, 

said Miraldina Jamba, Angola’s Women 

Parliamentarians Group chairperson, during 

a meeting with UNESCO director- general 

Irina Bokova in April. 

Jamba pointed out that Angola now has 

6.1 million people studying in the education 

system, compared to 4.3 million in 2010. 

In a move to improve further education, 

Angola’s cabinet also approved in April 

the setting up of 15 new private highereducation 

colleges. The establishments will 

be located in Luanda, Benguela, Cabinda, 

Huíla, Huambo, Uíge, Kwanza Norte, 

Kwanza Sul, Bengo and Bié provinces and 

will provide places for 19,000 students. 

During his stay in Luanda, Barroso had an audience with 

President José Eduardo dos Santos and invited him to visit EU 

headquarters in Brussels. 

Angola and the European Union also signed several agreements 

to finance projects related to Angola’s electoral process worth 

about €1 million. 

Manatees for Korea Expo 

■ Angola will present its manatee preservation 

project as part of its contribution to Expo 2012 

which is being held in the South Korean city 

of Yeosu. 

The theme of this year’s event is ‘The Living 

Ocean and Coast’ and it runs from May 12 

through to August 12. Angola’s Expo 

commission has selected the manatee 

initiative and also Angola’s liquefied natural 

gas project (see page 44) as examples of 

sustainable development. 

Under the theme ‘Angola Sustainable 

Development, Our Commitment’, the 

country will also display information 

about ‘The Great Maritime Ecosystem 

of the Benguela Current’, the sea 

current that also affects Namibia and 

South Africa. 

IStock Photo 

ESTELLE MAUSSION/AFP/Getty Images 

Education accord 

bears fruit 

■ An education co-operation agreement 

signed by President José Eduardo dos 

Santos and the former French leader 

Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008 is reaping its 

first results. 

Eighteen students from the Eiffel School in 

Caxito, Bengo province, managed to qualify 

for a place at Agostinho Neto University, 

and another five received grants from 

French oil company Total to study abroad. 

The Eiffel Project, financed by Total 

and run by the French Lay Mission under 

the auspices of the Angolan Ministry of 

Education, comprises four schools in 

provinces in the interior. The other schools 

are at Malange, Ondgiva (Cunene) and 

N’dalatando (Kwanza Norte). The project’s 

success is put down to the schools’ small 

class numbers of 24. 

Cunene school opening 

FIGURED OUT 

19,000 

new college places for Angolan students 

estimated iron ore reserves in Huíla province 

10.5% 

IMF forecast for Angolan economic growth in 2012 

Angola in numbers 

200,000m 

of sand decontaminated in Luanda Bay 

2 

1 million tons 

of cement produced at the Secil Lobito plant this year 


4.2 

Total 

billion 

tons 

TAAG buys more Boeings 

■ Angola’s national airline TAAG has ordered three more Boeing 777- 

300 Extended Range aircraft to add to the two it purchased previously. 

The aircraft cost $895 million and TAAG has an option on buying another 

three later. 

The new 777s will probably be used on its Brazil service to Rio de Janeiro 

and São Paulo, and to Portugal (Lisbon and Porto), as well as to other European 

destinations. The airline also operates eight Boeing 737s, the workhorse of 

Angola’s regional services for over 30 years. 

President receives South Sudan minister 

■ President José Eduardo dos Santos received Deng Alor Kuol, South Sudan’s minister 

for foreign affairs, at the end of a three-day stay in March aimed at strengthening 

bilateral relations. 

South Sudan is interested in closer co-operation, especially in the oil sector, to draw 

on Angola’s successful experience as Africa’s second-largest sub-Saharan producer. 

Established only last year as a new country, South Sudan has also expressed interest in 

co-operating in sports, specifically in basketball, another area of recent Angolan success. 

5.2 million 

tons 

annual output of liquefied natural gas expected at Soyo 

Boeing TAAG

INDUSTRY 

CLIMBING INTO A 

MARITIME FUTURE 

Angola’s thousand-mile seaboard offers huge opportunities to deliver professional 

careers and profitable livelihoods to many more Angolans than at present. 

Universo looks at moves to develop the country’s seafaring industry k 

Opening image: Angolan cadets aboard SS Danmark training ship 


Svitzer

INDUSTRY 

Angola has a long, benign 

coastline generally unaffected 

by the more dramatic weather 

conditions which make 

shipping difficult in many parts of 

the world. Current Angolan maritime 

activities are concentrated in its busy and 

well-developed offshore oil industry. 

There is intense coastal traffic supplying 

oil exploration and production companies 

with equipment, transferring crews, and 

ferrying staff overseeing well-drilling 

operations or carrying out maintenance. 

There are also regular oil-tanker loading 

operations which then take the precious 

cargo to markets all over the world. 

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers 

have been a more recent addition to 

large vessel traffic. Sporting characteristic 

domed profiles, these carriers are 

scheduled to start regular gas shipments 

from Angola LNG’s Soyo facility in June 

this year. 

Most of the vessels plying Angolan 

ports often operate exclusively in coastal 

waters for oil industry-related activities but 

use crews drawn from around the globe, 

with relatively few Angolans on board. The 

government plans to change this situation 

and bring greater Angolan access to these 

jobs, creating a local seafaring industry. 

‘Angolanisation’ is already making steady 

headway, with more indigenous crews 

being trained for the task. 

Glasgow city centre 

Brazuk Ltd 

Masters and commanders 

Angola’s merchant navy has seen 

concerted institutional development 

over the past ten years, thanks mainly to 

the efforts of Sonangol EP and Sonangol 

Shipping, which have made substantial 

investments in both a Suezmax tanker fleet 

(seven to date and three more to deliver 

by January 2013) and an LNG carrier fleet 

(three ships delivered), which provide 

significant training and professional 

maritime sailing opportunities. 

In addition, Sonangol Shipping 

has partnered with Stena Bulk, part of 

the Swedish conglomerate Stena, and 

Chevron Shipping to provide shore-based 

training and professional employment 

opportunities for Angolan seamen. 

Sonangol Shipping also operates its 

own cadet-training programme, which 

has graduated over 40 deep-sea Deck 

and Engineering Officers since 1998. As 

originally structured, this programme 

provided the Sonangol cadets with the 

required English language and maritime 

academic training in India and in Scotland. 

The first academic year is spent at one 

of several Indian schools, the Academy of 

Maritime Education and Training (AMET), in 

Chennai, Tolani Maritime Institute in Pune 

or Vels Academy of Maritime Education in 

Chennai, and the second academic year at 

the Glasgow College of Nautical Studies, 

now the City of Glasgow College (COGC). 

Brazuk Ltd 

The Angolan cadet officers also 

receive on-board training on the Sonangol 

Suezmax tankers, all of which are built with 

extra cabins to accommodate them. 

For the past several years, Sonangol 

and Stena have been collaborating on the 

development of the Angolan Maritime 

Training Centre (AMTC) in Sumbe, Angola, 

350km south of Luanda. AMTC will be 

owned by Sonangol EP and operated in 

collaboration with COGC, which has been 

appointed academic manager. António 

Pelé Cardoso da Silva Neto will be the chief 

executive of AMTC. 

It will provide complete training 

for maritime ratings, and the first year 

of academic training for deep-sea Deck 

and Engineer Officer cadets. COGC will 

continue to provide the second academic 

year in Glasgow until such time as AMTC 

has developed to enable it to also take in 

this important element of the programme 

to unlimited certification. Over time, 

additional types of training will be provided 

including English language training. 

It is anticipated that AMTC will 

eventually be able to provide the entire 

academic cycle of training in both deep-sea 

and restricted certification qualifications 

for cadets and ratings. It will have staff 

and student accommodation and aims 

to become an internationally-recognised 

centre of excellence, on a par with similar 

maritime centres around the globe. 

Bridge simulator at City of Glasgow College 

Biggest riches in the sea 

“A strong and reliable Angola training 

programme will give the country 

a new culture of seafaring,” says 

Catarino Pereira, general manager at 

Sonangol Marine Services, who has 

18 years’ experience as a mechanical 

engineer. “The biggest riches are in 

the sea. There’s no seafaring culture 

at the moment but Angola is getting 

there. The programme will be an open 

door to understanding life at sea.” 


Brazuk Ltd 

Svitzer 

INDUSTRY 

LNG Carrier Sonangol Etosha 

Sonangol Marine Services

Svitzer 

INDUSTRY 

Taking the wheel – an Angolan Svitzer trainee 

Angolan Maritime Training Services, a 

Sonangol Shipping and Stena joint-venture 

company, designed the training centre, 

which is nearing completion. AMTC will be 

run as an outreach centre of COGC. It will 

ensure compliance with the highest maritime 

academic standards and will develop 

relationships with statutory authorities. 

Opening in 2012, the centre’s first 

intake will consist of 24 deck cadets and 

24 engineer cadet trainees for Sonangol 

Shipping. This will pave the way to 

accepting trainees from third-party 

companies from 2013. It is then planned 

that AMTC will provide a stream of highlyskilled 

and internationally-qualified 

Angolan seafarers for Sonangol and the 

local maritime and offshore industries. 

The centre aims to “vigorously and 

actively support the Angolanisation 

programmes of both Sonangol and the 

wider maritime industry in the region.” 

During the first five years, trainee 

numbers will be progressively increased 

with the potential to also offer many 

short and specialised courses to the wider 

maritime industry. A major component 

of the project will be to develop Angolan 

professional maritime academic staff who 

will eventually be fully responsible for 

managing and operating AMTC. 

The investment in the centre will 

ensure the long-term success of the 

project, and will also bring added value by 

employing people from the surrounding 

area, developing the local economy 

and infrastructure. 

Angolan Maritime Training Services 

will strategically support and oversee 

AMTC which will also provide statutory 

courses for skilled seafarers in the 

Angolan maritime industry, a sector that is 

Aiming high 

Delcio Cassinga Tito is 

a 26-year-old merchant 

seaman whose career 

has taken him a long way 

from home in Luanda’s 

Rangel district. Tito won 

a Sonangol scholarship 

in 2006 to study marine 

mechanical engineering. 

He has already undergone 

courses in India and South Africa, and 

in February he passed his examinations 

at COGC to become a mechanical 

engineer officer. 

In his first ‘sea time’, a sevenmonth 

period aboard the oil tanker 

Sonangol Luanda, Tito overcame a 

period of adaptation which included 

seasickness. “As time went by I got 

used to it, gained the confidence of my 

superior officers and learnt a lot. I also 

had a study programme aboard ship 

which helped me to understand the 

systems we normally worked with. 

“Life at sea requires a great deal of 

responsibility and dedication. You need 

experiencing significant growth in demand 

for skilled professionals. 

AMTC will offer residential courses 

to 192 students on campus at one time, 

including the first year of the two-year 

Higher National Diploma course for Deck 

and Engineer Officer of the Watch Trainees. 

This includes English language, Standards 

of Training, Certification & Watchkeeping, 

and short courses on survival, fire-fighting, 

first aid, and tanker familiarisation. 

Sonangol leads maritime development 

“Sonangol has been active in the Angolan national and international shipping 

markets for many years,” says Mark Heater, president of Sonangol Marine 

Services. “This activity has allowed Sonangol Shipping not only to build, buy and 

own crude and product tankers and LPG and LNG carriers of various sizes, but 

it has also provided the catalyst to develop a very successful maritime cadettraining 

programme. This programme has graduated over 40 officers to date and 

has more than 150 in various stages of cadet and rating training.” 

to be very safety-conscious in all the 

work you do. In my free time I listen to 

music, play bar football (which I like a 

lot) and PlayStation. I also watch a lot 

of films, and on Sundays we swim in 

the pool,” he says. 

Whenever he missed his 

parents while aboard, he would call 

them through the ship’s communications 

system. 

“My future objectives are to 

continue in this area and become a 

chief engineer and a master marine 

mechanical engineer, and help 

Sonangol to grow in this area and 

reach higher levels.” 

Courses will also offer restricted 

certificates for Captains and Chief Mates 

on coastal shipping. These certificates 

involve shorter courses and are faster to 

achieve compared to unlimited maritime 

certification. There will also be courses 

for restricted power certificates for 

Chief Engineers. 

Courses offered at AMTC will be 

accredited and approved by the UK 

Maritime & Coastguard Agency (UKMCA) or 

the South African Maritime Safety Authority. 

In a separate development, merchant 

marine training is under way to support 

port operations for the fleet of LNG 

carriers that will serve Angola LNG, the 

new liquefied natural gas plant in Soyo (see 

story on page 44). 

“The fleet provides an opportunity for 

maritime training and jobs for Angolans,” 

says António Orfão, chief executive of 

Angola LNG. 


INDUSTRY 

Brazuk Ltd

Brazuk Ltd 

João Pedro Alvado Mariano 

INDUSTRY 

Sea – the opportunity 

João Pedro Alvado Mariano, currently at COGC 

in Glasgow, was the first to opt for a maritime 

career in his family. “I thought it would be a 

good opportunity,” he says. It was a challenge 

to learn English and get on with other cultures, 

but he enjoyed doing this and acquiring nautical 

knowledge. He would recommend that others to 

follow his example. 

Mariano says his most memorable 

experiences aboard were “the harmony between 

master and crew on board, sudden changes in 

climate and work related to navigation”. Most of 

all, he liked keeping watch on deck, which is the 

main task of the navigator. He says everything is 

going well and he aims to eventually be a captain. 

Angola LNG’s marine department 

requires pilots and crews for support 

craft. Specialist company Svitzer is in 

charge of these operations, which use five 

tugboats, four line-handling boats, two 

patrol boats, a pilot boat and a pollution- 

response boat. 

Demand for qualified Angolan 

mariners far outstrips the supply in this 

nascent industry. Svitzer has hired more 

than 60 people from Soyo, providing 

training in English and then pre-sea 

training on board the SS Denmark during a 

three-month trip from Lisbon to Madeira, 

Cape Verde and the Azores. 

The curriculum included basic seaman 

skills, watch-keeping, navigation,electrical 

knowledge, engine duty, fire and rescue 

drills and tanker familiarisation, along with 

routine housekeeping tasks. 

The Angolan ratings are now working 

on the support craft and getting ready 

for operational start-up at Soyo. By 2014, 

Svitzer Angola aims to achieve 65 per cent 

Angolanisation of its workforce. 

Port pilots worldwide are generally 

mariners with extensive experience, having 

sailed a number of years on merchant ships 

before becoming pilots. With qualified 

individuals not readily available, Angola 

LNG has embarked on a programme of 

selecting candidates as marine deck cadets 

who will work their way up the ranks to 

become master mariners and eventually 

pilots in the port. 

The first two candidates are presently 

undergoing their pre-sea training at 

the Maritime College in Cape Town, 

South Africa. Angola LNG plans to train 

two to three candidates every year 

and has an arrangement with Chevron 

Shipping to provide berths on ships 

when the cadets start sailing in order 

to gain experience in navigation and 

cargo handling. 

Oil and gas-related shipping is not 

the only show in town. Another area with 

great development potential is Angola’s 

fishing fleet. The country’s coast teems 

with underexploited fisheries and other 

seafood resources. 

Angola’s ferrous mineral wealth in 

the shape of iron ore and manganese is 

about to be resurrected, thanks to the 

newly-rebuilt railroad linking Namibe 

with reserves at Kassinga in Huíla 

province. This will provide another 

opportunity for Angolan-crewed bulk 

cargo ships. 

The Benguela Railway may similarly 

provide transport for renewed Zambian 

copper exports in the coming months, and 

Angola’s fast-developing farming industry 

may also supply growing export cargoes in 

the next few years. 

Coastal shipping is another potential 

provider of local jobs at sea as Angola’s 

ports expand, new ones are built and their 

operations gain in efficiency. p 


Svitzer 

Sonangol Marine Services LNG Carrier Sonangol Benguela 

INDUSTRY

IStock Photo 

LITERATURE 

ANGOLA’S 

LITERARY 

PROMISE 

Angola boasts a unique and fascinating literary tradition yet to be discovered 

on a truly international scale. Pepetela currently leads the way k 

Artúr Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos, ‘Pepetela’ (born 1941), won the world’s most 

prestigious award for Lusophone literature, the Camões Prize, in 1997 

PEPETELA was born in Benguela and studied in Lubango, 

Lisbon and Algiers. Pepetela means ‘eyelash’ in Kimbundu, as 

does ‘pestana’ in Portuguese. He received his nickname while 

a fighter for the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola 

(MPLA) during the country’s struggle against colonialism. 

After Angolan independence in 1975, he became vice- 

minister of education under Angola’s first president, Agostinho 

Neto. He left the government in 1982 and started teaching 

sociology as a professor at Luanda’s Agostinho Neto University. 

Pepetela has written an impressive list of successful novels. 

They include Mayombe (Jungle) which describes the MPLA’s 

fight against Portuguese rule; A Geração da Utopia (The Utopia 

Generation), which deals with the disillusion of young Angolans 

during the post-independence period; and in A Gloriosa Família 

(The Glorious Family), in which Pepetela dives into Angola’s 

brief period of Dutch colonial rule. 

His most recent works include Predadores (Predators), 

a review of Angolan society; the post-apocalyptic allegory 

O Quase Fim do Mundo (Nearly the End of the World) 

and O Planalto e a Estepe (The Plateau and the Steppe), 

which describes Angola’s history and its ties with former 

communist nations. 

You were awarded the world’s highest prize for Lusophone 

literature in 1997 (the Camões Prize) and are arguably today’s 

most famous Angolan writer. Does the fact that you are so 

deeply respected at home and abroad make it easier for you to 

comment on Angola when you feel it takes a wrong turn? 

I comment on many things about Angola which I think need 

to be criticised, whether through books, lectures or interviews, 

but what is important is not to be critical in order to ‘charm’, or 

to get more media attention. What is important is to come up 

with solutions, paths towards improvement as a citizen, not as 

a writer. 

What has Angola achieved in ten years of peace? 

Angola has had several important victories, such as reintegrating 

around four million war refugees and displaced people. It has 

also made a lot of quantitative progress in health and education 

with the construction of thousands of schools and hospitals. 

The same goes for the rebuilding of road infrastructure and an 

effort to solve Angola’s serious housing problem. Angola’s GDP 

is steadily increasing but it has not yet managed to narrow its 

social disparities. 

When was the first time you remember loving your country? 

When I left Angola; I was young and went to study in Portugal. 

From that moment onwards I knew Angola was the Lost 

Paradise. I travelled back to many places, but they were never as 

good as I remembered them. The Utopia Generation, sometimes 

in a slightly negative way, delves deeply into this feeling. I wrote 

the entire book outside Angola. 

When will it be time to write an autobiography, if ever? 

That probably won’t happen; it’s a theme that doesn’t appeal 

to me. What’s more, I have a bad memory and would commit 

many involuntary mistakes. 

Who are your favourite Angolan poets and writers? 

Viriato da Cruz as a poet, and Luandino Vieira as a writer. 


Jose Mendonça

LITERATURE 

A brief history of Angolan literature 

The origins of modern Angolan literature, traditionally 

of a combative and satirical nature, date back to the 

1930s. The first novel by an Angolan writer, O Segredo 

da Morta (The Secret of the Dead Woman) by António 

Assis Júnior, was published around 1935. 

The ‘Generation of 1950’ revolved around the magazine 

Mensagem. Angola’s first president and famous poet Agostinho 

Neto formed part of this movement, as did Viriato da Cruz and 

António Jacinto. These men helped shape an entire generation’s 

conscience, which would eventually culminate in resistance to 

Portuguese colonial rule and lead to national independence. 

In the following years, authors such as Oscar Ribas, Luandino 

Vieira, Arnaldo Santos, Uanhenga Xitu, Ernesto Lara Filho and 

Mario António developed a more uniquely Angolan, expressive 

language in a bid to rediscover and define Angola’s national 

identity. Luandino Vieira was awarded the Camões Prize in 2006 but 

he didn’t accept the award “for personal reasons”. 

The creation of Angola’s Writers’ Union soon followed 

Angolan independence in 1975 and this gave the publishing 

industry a tremendous boost. Poets Arlindo Barbeitos, David 

Mestre and Ruy Duarte de Carvalho were widely celebrated, 

The ‘Generation of the 1980s’ was all about 

freedom of creation and themes revolving 

around love and intimacy 

as were prose and fiction writers Henrique 

Abranches, Manuel Rui Monteiro and Pepetela. 

The ‘Generation of the 1980s’ was all about 

freedom of creation and themes revolving around 

love and intimacy. Poets José Luís Mendonça, João 

Maimona, João Melo, Paula Tavares, Lopito Feijó 

and Botelho de Vasconcelos, among others, are renowned 

representatives of this period. 

The 1990s saw a serious comeback of prose and fiction 

writers Pepetela, Manuel Rui Monteiro, Henrique Abranches 

and Arnaldo Santos. New names of this period include 

José Eduardo Agualusa, José Sousa Jamba, Boaventura 

Cardoso, Fernando Fonseca Santos, Cikakata Mbalundo, 

Fragata de Morais, Jacinto de Lemos, Roderick Nehone, 

Alberto Oliveira Pinto and Jacques Arlindo dos Santos. 

Poet José Luís Mendonça (born 1955) was part of the 

‘Geração das Incertezas’ (Generation of Uncertainty) and 

is a member of the Angolan Writers’ Union and the director 

of Jornal de Angola’s new weekly magazine Cultura. 

He has won an impressive number of national awards: 

Chuva Novembrina (November Rain) – Sagrada 

Esperança Poetry Award from the National Book 

and Disc Institute (INALD), 1981 

Gíria de Cacimbo (Dry Season Slang), Angolan 

Writers’ Union, 1986 

Respirar as Mãos na Pedra (Hands Breathing on 

the Rock) – Sonangol Literature Award, Angolan 

Writers’ Union, 1988 

Quero Acordar a Alva (I Want to Wake the Dawn) 

– Sagrada Esperança Poetry Award, INALD, 1996 

MENDONCA was born in Galungo Alto, Kwanza Norte province 

and moved to Luanda’s Cazenga district when he was six. He 

studied law at the Catholic University of Angola, worked as a 

journalist at various Angolan newspapers and was a long-serving 

press officer and journalist at UNICEF. 

According to literary analysts, Mendonça’s writings were 

born in the context of the death of the revolutionary utopias 

of the 1960s and 1970s and his disenchantment with a newly 

independent Angola which proved unable to fulfil the promises 

of freedom, justice and equality. 

Mendonça’s literary generation was divided into two 

fundamental movements: the Brigada Jovem de Literatura (the 

Youth Literature Brigade) and the group centred around the 

magazine Archote (Torch) to which he belonged. 

Which themes inspire you most? 

My poetry refers to the earth. I get my inspiration from the 

simplest and most common things, such as Angolan oil. For me, 

objects have a voice. The poem Eu Sou Petróleo Bruto (I Am Crude 

Oil) from my collection Poesia Manuscrita pelos Hipocampo 

(Poetry Written by the Hippocampus) contains various layers. It 

can be interpreted as a love poem for an imaginary woman, or 

as an African human being’s thirst for emancipation. Among my 

most important themes are platonic or carnal relationships with 

women, and social as well as philosophical poetry. 

When did you first start writing? 

I started writing short stories at the age of 14. During colonial 

times I lived in a musseque in the Cazenga neighbourhood, 

where there was lots of violence. There were only two mestizos 

(people of mixed heritage) and three blacks at school; society 

divided us into groups according to skin colour. I was badly 

discriminated against, had few friends and led an isolated life. 

I didn’t understand why I lived in such a difficult world. That’s 

when I began to read a lot and write. 

I spent years training myself in the techniques of writing 

poetry, in order to be different and still produce quality. Then 

in 1981, at the Sagrada Esperança contest, I won a prize for my 

first book, Chuva Novembrina. When I entered the Angolan 

Writers’ Union in 1984, I began to be well-known. My ultimate 

breakthrough came when I won the Sonangol Literature Prize in 

1986 for my poetry collection Gíria de Cacimbo. 

Mendonça on the next generation of writers and poets: 

“Angola is in the middle of a growth spurt since the end of the war 

in 2002. There is finally space for culture. During the war youths 

had to fight. Now they can breathe.” 

As the director of Jornal de Angola’s new magazine Cultura, do 

you feel that more needs to be done to export Angola’s culture to 

the rest of the world? 

Angola has some very good writers and poets. My personal 

favourites are Agostinho Neto, Mario António, Joaquim Cordeiro 

da Mata and Ruy Duarte de Carvalho. For me, Ondjaki definitely 

represents the upcoming generation. 

Mendonça believes difficulties in spreading Angolan culture 

abroad could be overcome with more co-operation from foreign 

embassies, better translators and private-company investment. 


IStock Photo 

Jose Mendonça 

LITERATURE

LITERATURE 

Carlos Sérgio Monteiro Ferreira (born 1960) 

is a celebrated Angolan author and one of the 

co-founders of the the Youth Literature Brigade 

of Luanda (BJLL) 

FERREIRA, also known as Cassé, is a poet, radio journalist and a 

member member of the Angolan Writers’ Union and co-founder of 

the now extinct BJLL. As a member of the ‘Generation of Uncertainty’ 

his writing is characterised by deep anguish and melancholy resulting 

from the disillusionment following Angolan independence. 

His many works include Ponto de Partida (Point of Departure), 

Projeto Comum I and II (Common Projects 1 and 2), Sabor a Sal (Taste 

of Salt) and Quase Exílio (Nearly Exile). 

Can you tell us something about your latest work, A Magia das 

Palavras (The Magic of Words), which describes Angola’s difficulties 

as a result of the war? 

It’s a process of catharsis. It contains various stories and letters, 

among which are those I wrote to the living and deceased people who 

had a fundamental role in my upbringing. 

How would you summarise your writings and convictions? 

My poetry stems from a very strong bond with the earth, and contains 

an equally strong component of social criticism. I disagree with 

ultra-liberal and inhuman capitalism without rules. Instead, I believe 

Angola needs to return to its progressive, democratic premises, 

without copying the Western democratic model. 

Can you explain the title of the book that represents 400 years of 

Angolan poetry: Entre a Lua, o Caos e o Silêncio: a Flor (Between the 

Moon, Chaos and Silence: the Flower) written by yourself and Irene 

Guerra Marques? 

Yes, that’s an easy one. The moon has always been a symbol of poetry. 

Chaos and silence are matrices of Angolan society – at least in Luanda 

– today. The flower, or new poetry, can despite everything be reborn. 

Lulu Ahrens 

Ndalu de Almeida, ‘Ondjaki’ (born 

1977), has written poetry, children’s 

books, short stories, novels and film 

scripts. He was awarded the Grande 

Prémio de Conto Camilo Castelo Branco 

2008 (Camilo Castelo Branco Grand 

Prize for Storytelling) by the Portuguese 

Writers’ Union for his novel Os da 

Minha Rua (The Ones from My Street). 

That same year he won the Grinzane 

for Africa Award, followed by the Jabuti 

Prize in 2010 for his children’s book 

AvôDezanove e o Segredo do Soviético 

(Grandmother Nineteen and the Soviet 

man’s Secret) 

ONDJAKI studied sociology at Lisbon University and 

wrote his thesis on Angolan writer Luandino Vieira. 

Ondjaki also has a doctorate in African Studies at Naples 

University. His books have been translated into French, 

Spanish, Italian, German, Serbian, English, Chinese 

and Swedish. 

In O Assobiador (The Whistler) a young man 

arrives at a small African village. He enters the church 

and starts whistling. Eventually he bewitches the priest 

and the churchgoers to such an extent that they reach a 

state of trance, culminating in an orgiastic celebration. 

Bom Dia Camaradas (Good Morning, Comrades) 

was written in loving and humorous memory of a 

childhood in Angola in a Luanda marked by decades 

of civil war around 1990. 

Ondjaki, who currently lives in Rio de Janeiro, told 

Universo that his main subject was “probably people”, 

adding: “I write from a starting point of a story that 

involves very human moments; many sensations, 

smells, places that exist or are yet to exist. I don’t know 

if that’s a subject or an obsession.” 

Michael Hughes 

Etelvina da Conceição Alfredo Diogo ‘Ngonguita Diogo’ 

(born 1963) is a member of Movimento Lev’Arte 

NGONGUITA DIOGO entered the literary 

scene in 2010 with No Mbinda o Ouro é 

Sangue (In Mbinda, Gold is Blood); Weza, 

a Princesa (Weza, the Princess); Sinay, the 

story of an unscrupulous wizard, and the 

children’s book A Minha Baratinha (My 

Little Cockroach). 

Diogo’s favourite female writers 

include Sónia Gomes and Marta Santos. 

Her work describes the suffering, social 

injustice and general day-to-day life after 

Angolan independence. 

Diogo’s children’s books 

Weza, a Princesa explores Africa’s 

charm, beauty and ancient rites 

and traditions for children, so that 

this heritage is kept alive. “As in any 

children’s story, good overcomes 

evil,” says Diogo. A Minha Baratinha 

describes “children’s unique wisdom 

and offers proof that fantasy is real and 

cockroaches can talk. It is also about 

the importance of hygiene.” 

A Minha Baratinha describes “children’s unique 

wisdom and offers proof that fantasy is real and 

cockroaches can talk” 


Lula Ahrens 

LITERATURE 

Kiocamba Cassua (26) is the 

executive secretary of the young 

and hot Movimento Lev’Arte. His 

first collection of poems, Outros 

Sorrisos nos Nossos Lábios 

(Other Smiles on Our Lips), was 

published in 2011 

CASSUA’s other poems were published in the 

anthology Palavras (Words). Love, disillusion 

and sadness are his universal themes. “This 

movement (Movimento Lev’Arte), created 

in 2006, aims to take art to all parts of the 

world and to humanise people through 

art. We have a presence in Luanda, Brazil 

and Portugal,” he says 

Cassua says he sees numerous literary 

movements and literary works being born 

in Angola at the moment. In the past, people 

chose to invest in profitable businesses 

with immediate returns. Now big business 

concerns are financing literature and the arts. 

Ngonguita Diogo

IStock Photo 

Hindhyra Mateta 

Capoeira: 

saluting an Angolan master 

by Lula Ahrens 

Capoeira, a martial art largely associated with Brazil, is believed to 

have originated in Angola. Mestre Kamosso, a maker of the musical 

instrument played to accompany it, tells Universo his story k 

A 

ged 92 years old, Mestre (Master) Kamosso holds a 

unique place in Angola’s living cultural heritage. His 

long life is entwined with the martial art capoeira that is 

now practised throughout the world, and the instrument 

that provides the cadenced background twang that accompanies 

its dance-like fight. 

Kamosso is renowned for making the musical instrument 

called a hungu, better known by its Brazilian name the berimbau. 

This consists of a gourd (dried fruit shell) at the base of a thin 

wooden bow with steel wires attached. The plucked wires resonate 

in the shell, producing a gentle, hollow plunking sound. 

Kamosso used to be a celebrated hungu player and has 

many stories to tell. “I was invited to play during MPLA mass 

demonstrations and speeches, first by former President Agostinho 

Neto, and later by President Eduardo dos Santos, in Luanda, 

Lobito, Catumbela, Benguela, Cuba and Congo. I also played 

during Carnival. That’s how I got my girlfriends!” 

Mestre Kamosso, whose name means ‘Come here!’ in one of 

Angola’s national languages, Kimbundu, laughs out loud as he 

recalls the old days in his derelict little house in Catete. 

Mating rights 

The Angolan hungu or m’bolumbumba 

used to be played by Angolan herdsmen. 

The Luanda-born poet, painter and 

ethnographer Albano Neves e Sousa 

(1921-1995) was convinced that the hungu 

and the martial zebra dance N’golo it 

accompanied were exported from the 

16th century onwards by Angolan slaves, 

a theory widely accepted as capoeira’s 

founding story. N’golo was inspired by 

male zebras fighting for mating rights. 

The people of the Mucope villages 

in southern Angola dance N’golo, which 

technically speaking is capoeira, wrote 

Sousa. It is performed when girls reach 

puberty. The man who performs the N’golo 

best is allowed to choose his wife among 

the new eligible brides without having to 

pay a dowry. Slaves taken to Brazil through 

the port of Benguela are believed to have 

taken this tradition along with them. 

The logo of the International Capoeira 

Angola Foundation features a zebra coming 

out of the African continent and meeting a 

South American capoeira fighter. 

Young admirers 

Hindhyra Mateta and Alexandre Yewa 

are producing a multimedia exhibition 

and a documentary on the hungu and 

its masters to preserve its musical and 

cultural heritage. They are in a hurry; 

Mestre Kamosso believes he will soon die. 

Capoeira teacher Janguinda Moniz, 

aged 31, known by his capoeira name 

‘Cabuenha,’ and his friends have repainted 

Mestre Kamosso’s house. Having been 

trained by Brazil’s famous Mestre Camisa 

and other masters, Cabuenha now 

performs and teaches in Angola, Brazil, 

South Africa, São Tomé and Príncipe, 

Dubai and Europe. 

Mestre Kamosso’s voice is hoarse; he 

has difficulty remembering the details of 

his past. He has the intensely emotional 

expression that only the ancient possess. 

“I joined the Portuguese army in 

1958; I served in Angola for one year and 

in India for two years. Until Independence 

in 1975, when I worked as a cook for the 

white people, I was not allowed to play the 

hungu. But I used to do it anyway, every 

night after making dinner.” 

In 2007, the Ministry of Culture 

awarded him a diploma for his efforts 

in the preservation and dissemination 

of Angolan culture. Nevertheless, his 

nation-wide popularity acquired after 

Independence did not last. “Everyone 

forgot about me,” Mestre Kamosso says. 

His voice turns soft; for a moment his face 

crumbles in grief. “But now people are 

coming back to say hello.” 

Cabuenha has a special relationship 

with Mestre Kamosso. “For me he is a 

teacher, a master. For Luandans he is a 

symbol of national and cultural resistance 

during colonialism. He helped change the 

values of several generations of Angolans.” 

His legacy will live on. “After an 

interval of almost two decades, capoeira 

has returned to its Angolan roots and is 

once again growing in popularity,” says 

Cabuenha who has worked alongside 

artists including Paulo Flores, Café Negro, 

dance group Kussanguluka, Raúl de 

Rosário, Zona 5 and Brix. 

“Capoeira is important because it 

helps to strengthen ethnic, cultural and 

civic values. Since 2008, I’ve been teaching 

capoeira to children and teenagers in the 

musseques [shanty towns] for free. It’s a 

way to awaken their interest in music, art, 

sports, school and health. We teach them 

respect for the elderly, and use capoeira 

to raise awareness regarding HIV, blood 

donation and the environment.” 

Later the master makes us an offer. 

“Learning how to play hungu is not that 

difficult,” Kamosso says cheerfully. “I 

will teach you if you bring me six eggs, a 

chicken and five litres of wine.” 

He grabs his hungu and begins to 

play, and then sing. Soon he drifts off into 

another world: Angolan history. p 

“After an interval of almost two decades, 

capoeira has returned to its Angolan roots” – Cabuenha 


jmarconi 

Hindhyra Mateta 

CULTURE

ELECTION ‘12 

PREPARING 

FOR THE 

ELECTIONS 

A country-wide mobilisation of voters is underway 

as Angola prepares for general elections in August. 

Universo observes some of the processes involved k 


Corbis Images


On May 23, President José 

Eduardo dos Santos convoked 

general elections. The Angolan 

people will choose members 

for the National Assembly and as 

a consequence, the president who will 

be selected by the largest party in the 

National Assembly. 

The elections, to be held on August 31, 

will be the second to take place in a 10 year 

period of peace since 1992. 

In the previous election, in 2008, the 

governing Movimento Popular de Libertação 

de Angola (MPLA), won a landslide victory 

with over 80% of votes casts. 

The turn-out at 87% was high and the 

electoral process was widely praised for 

its fairness and the peaceful atmosphere 

in which it took place. Observers from 

the African Union, the Southern African 

Development Community (SADC) and 

the Community of Portuguese Language 

Countries (CPLC) oversaw the process. 

The second-placed party in the 2008 

election race, UNITA, conceded defeat early 

on during the count when it realised it was 

trailing far behind the MPLA. UNITA only 

managed to attract 10% of the voters, but 

the party’s conciliatory attitude in accepting 

the result contributed to the pacific, civic 

atmosphere of the electoral process. 

Angola’s elected 81 women or 36.8% 

of National Assembly members in 2008; 

77 for the MPLA and four for UNITA. This 

compares extremely favourably with more 

mature democracies such as the United 

States were only 22.3% of Congressmen are 

women and United Kingdom’s Parliament 

which has just 17.2% women. 

Registration campaign 

Angola has vigorously campaigned to 

sign up as many potential voters as possible 

for the electoral register over the past year. 

Registration points were set up throughout 

the country in public places to update the 

roll in the period July 29, 2011 through to 

April 15 this year. 

Famous Angolans such as international 

athletes from the women’s national 

basketball team who won gold in the 

African championships made high profile 

Angop 

Angop 

Election 2008 in numbers 

Votes ................................ 7.21 million 

Voter turnout: ..............................87% 

MPLA votes 81.6%: ............ 191 seats 

UNITA votes 10%: ................ 16 seats 

PRS: ......................................... 8 seats 

FNLA: ....................................... 3 seats 

ND: ........................................... 2 seats 

Polling stations: ........................50,195 

The turn-out at 87% was high 

and the electoral process 

was widely praised for its 

fairness and the peaceful 

atmosphere in which it took place 


GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/Getty Images 

FRANCISCO LEONG/AFP/Getty Images


Beathan/Corbis Joao Relvas/epa/Corbis 

Populous Luanda predictably came out 

as the largest electoral-college 

with 2.85 million voters 

contributions to this campaign by publicly 

registering for the vote. 

As a consequence of the campaign, 

Angola’s Central Computer Electoral 

Registry (FICRE) increased the roll of 

registered voters to 9.79 million compared 

to 8.6 million previously. The new roll 

removed doubly-registered electors and 

those who had since died. 

Populous Luanda predictably came 

out as the largest electoral-college with 

2.85 million voters according to the new 

census, followed by Huíla and Benguela. 

FICRE presented the updated registry 

to Angola’s independent Electoral Council 

or CNE on May 15. In order to undertake 

a thorough and independent audit of the 

electoral registry and identify any mistakes 

and irregularities, CNE contracted 

international auditors Deloite to analyse 

the data it contains. 

The CNE is charged with overseeing 

the electoral process. Its role includes 

cooperating with independent observers 

who will accompany the vote throughout 

Angolan territory to verify the election is 

free and fair. 

Election prospects 

Angolan political observers are 

unanimous in their evaluation and are 

predicting another substantial MPLA 

majority at the polls. 

On May 25 an MPLA Central 

Committee meeting was opened by 

President dos Santos who is also head of 

the party. The objective was the evaluation 

and selection of MPLA candidates and the 

Angop 

drawing up of proposals for the party’s new 

election manifesto. 

‘We are here to appreciate new 

proposals and present them to Angolan 

society to continue to consolidate peace and 

democracy as well as to promote economic 

and social development and well-being of 

all Angolans,’ said President dos Santos. 

‘The MPLA aims for our social 

development to be as dynamic as our 

economic growth has been.’ 

Angolan GDP grew on average by 

11.1% between 2001 and 2010 according to 

The Economist and the IMF predicts GDP 

will growing at a rate of 9.7% next year. 

‘We are conscious that much still 

needs to be done, but a new Angola is 

already emerging, capable of satisfying the 

legitimate yearnings of all Angolans.’ 

iStock photo 

Women in politics 

Angola: ................36.8% 

USA: .....................22.3% 

UK: .......................17.2% 

According to President dos Santos, 

‘The time has arrived to grow more and 

distribute better, the time for us to be 

a strong and just Angola and of being, 

increasingly free and happy... now the total, 

absolute priority is to improve Angolans’ 

living conditions’. 

The future project for society of 

our party is based on a Programme of 

Stability, Growth and Employment, he 

said. This meant ‘more water, energy, 

better education and health, stimulate 

rural areas and stimulate the creation and 

strengthening of micro, small and mediumsized 

Angolan companies.’ 

‘When we made the diagnosis of the 

situation in 2008, we noted that it was 

necessary to stamp a new dynamism on 

the country’s governance, change the 

Republic’s Constitution, improve the 

management of public affairs and affirm the 

principle of more rigour and transparency 

in the organisation and management 

of public finances and better sharing of 

national income,’ the President said. 

President dos Santos said that the 

government presented its programme and 

made several promises to the electorate in 

2008 and that MPLA meetings analysing 

the realisation of these commitments had 

been ‘positive’ and that this was clearly 

shown by the fact that projects have been 

inaugurated nearly every week. 

‘The country is in fact changing for the 

better and there is progress in every area, 

but to make Angola grow more and more is 

what the MPLA wants,’ he said. p 

President José 

Eduardo dos Santos 


LUCAS DOLEGA/POOL/epa/Corbis

PROVINCE 

HUÍLA – 

HEARTLAND OF 

DYNAMIC GROWTH 

Huíla province in southern Angola is distinguished by fertile lands and mineral 

resources as well as the natural beauty of its green highlands. An attractive 

climate also combines to make this province a focus for agro-industrial 

development and tourism. Universo takes a closer look k 


Kostadin Luchansky

PROVINCE 

A 

rrival at the gleaming new glass 

airport at Lubango, Huíla’s 

provincial capital, offers a 

clear idea of the lie of the land. 

Well-watered hills and a rocky cliffscape 

reminiscent of Cape Town embrace the 

town, hinting at the importance of local 

geology and climate to the region’s wealth. 

After Luanda, Huíla is home to 

Angola’s second most important 

industrial concentration, and this is 

about to grow sharply. Huíla is set 

to make a dramatic contribution to 

economic diversification, adding its 

mineral wealth to Angola’s dominant 

export earners of oil and diamonds, with 

a number of mining projects on schedule 

to start up in 2013. 

The principal undertaking is renewed 

extraction and processing of iron and 

manganese ore at the Kassinga and 

Jamba mines some 300km due east of 

Lubango. Proven iron ore deposits in the 

area amount to 400 million tons, with 

indications of probable reserves totalling a 

massive 4.2 billion tons. When last worked 

in the 1970s, these mines were yielding 

output worth $500 million a year at current 

international iron ore prices. 

The Kassinga and Jamba mining areas 

are served by a recently rebuilt railway, the 

Caminho de Ferro de Moçâmedes (CFM), 

which links them to the port of Namibe, 

formerly Moçâmedes. 

The ore will be refined into 

concentrate, a process that not only adds 

value because the product can then be put 

directly into steel-making furnaces, but 

also reduces the bulk sent by rail and thus 

cuts transport costs to the coast. There 

are long-term plans to build a steelworks 

based on the rich Kassinga deposits. 

Gold mines 

A parallel important addition to 

Angolan exports comes from plans to 

mine gold in Huíla in 2013 from two sites; 

M’popo near Jamba and Chipindo in the 

north of the province. Prospecting for iron 

and gold in the M’popo area is expected 

to bring economic development to the 

Jamba area, creating jobs and training 

local people. 

Diamantino Azevedo, chairman and 

chief executive of state mining company 

Ferrangol, says a long-term continuous 

geological survey is needed to map the 

minerals in Angola. Ferrangol’s aims 

are prospecting, research, exploration, 

processing and the sale of ferrous minerals 

as well as others used in steel production. 

Minerals found in Angola’s subsoil include 

lead, copper and aluminium, among 

many others. 

“We are thinking that one day we 

will produce and sell all the minerals 

indispensible for the country’s 

development so as to add value to our 

economy,” says João Paulino Chimuco, a 

Ferrangol mining engineer and planner. 

Mark Clydesdale 

Solid gold future 

IStock Photo 

View over Lubango 

Already experiencing a sales boom is 

Huíla’s sought-after ornamental stone. The 

province possesses some types of granite 

which are relatively rare and much prized 

on export markets. Several companies 

are well-established and exploiting 

opportunities in this area. Angola’s own 

fast-expanding construction industry is just 

one of many markets taking this excellent 

decorative stone. Huíla is also selling pink, 

grey, black and brown granites to India, 

China, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany and 

Canada, as well as tiles to Zambia, Namibia 

and South Africa. 

Bottled water 

Huíla’s well-watered hills above 

Lubango provide another resource – 

mineral water that is also being successfully 

extracted and marketed. A number of 

bottled-water companies are already doing 

good business and more are jumping on 

the bandwagon. 

A well-known company in this 

sector is Água da Chela at Humpata near 

Lubango. Officially opened in 1999, it 

produces 7,000 litres of bottled mineral 

water an hour and has plans to raise this 

to 15,000 litres an hour. 

Água da Chela not only supplies 

the whole of Angola, benefiting from the 

country’s much-improved highways, but 

also exports water to notoriously parched 

Namibia on its southern border, where 

water recycling accounts for some of 

its supply. 

The company has invested $10 million 

in its operations and estimates that it can 

achieve a return on its investment over a 

period of six years. Água da Chela has an 

all-Angolan workforce of 60 and aims to 

soon double the shifts worked. 

Inspired by Água da Chela, other 

enterprises have followed suit in setting 


Brazuk Ltd 

Liquid assets 

IStock Photo 

Mark Clydesdale 

Granite features 

IStock Photo 

PROVINCE

PROVINCE 

up bottling plants at Humpata to serve 

Angola’s discerning thirsty. Cristo Rei did 

this in 2009, and Preciosa of the Regente 

Hotel Group has also recently invested $10 

million in a project there. 

Another enterprise established near 

Lubango is drinks company Refriango, 

which has the Pura water brand. The 

pure-source water has also stimulated a 

buoyant beer (Huíla’s long-standing and 

justly famous N’gola brand) and soft drinks 

(Coca-Cola) industry. 

The fresh image of Huíla’s cool 

highlands is an important element in 

marketing these drinks. “Our water is 

marvellous and we have capacity for six 

more bottling plants,” says Paula Filomena 

Joaquim, provincial director for Huíla’s 

Ministry of Industry, Geology and Mines. 

It is not only bottled water that 

is appearing in Angolan homes. The 

provincial government signed a €Euros 

900,000 deal with Germany’s Gauff 

Engineering in March to renovate and 

expand Lubango’s public water supply 

system. The three-year plan involves 

sinking new wells at Humpata and building 

new reservoirs and treatment plants. 

The new system will raise water storage 

capacity 15-fold to 60,000 cubic metres 

and will benefit up to two million people. 

A major event in August this year will 

be the reopening of the CFM, the railway 

which runs through the whole of Huíla as 

it crosses southern Angola from Namibe. 

The railway is a boon to Huíla’s 

infrastructure in that it will relieve the 

pressure on the steep zigzag Serra da Leba 

road. Trucks carrying blocks of granite can 

now descend to Namibe by rail instead. 

There is also up-plateau traffic of Namibe 

province’s block granite, which is cut and 

polished in Huíla. 

The CFM continues east from 

Lubango to agro-industry centre Matala, 

through to the mineral belt around 

Jamba/Kassinga and on to its terminus at 

Menongue, where Sonangol has built a fuel 

and liquefied petroleum gas depot. The 

renewed transportation of heavy goods 

and passengers by rail is crucial to Huíla’s 

major redevelopment, and large-scale 

mining is unthinkable without it. 

Angola’s huge road-rebuilding 

programme is also impacting Huíla’s 

markets. Lubango is on the main northsouth 

highway that connects Luanda and 

Malange in the north to the Namibian 

border, taking in Angola’s second city 

Huambo en route. The potential for 

the growth in trade between all these 

economically reviving areas is enormous. 

Convoys of lorries now bring produce 

from Namibia to serve Angola. Easier road 

access has enabled South African–owned 

supermarket and restaurant chains to set 

up shop in places like Lubango. 

Farming investment 

Huíla’s temperate climate and good 

soils have made it another magnet for 

investment. Apart from its extensive, long- 

established cattle-rearing, the province 

has two large irrigated areas at Matala, 

due east of Lubango, and Gangelas to the 

south near Chibia, which are in the process 

of refurbishment and upgrading and are 

already raising food supplies significantly. 

Both these areas enjoy excellent road and 

rail links to Lubango and beyond. 

Matala 

Matala is located on a dam and 

reservoir and is the focal point of a 350kmlong 

section of the River Cunene, which 

has the potential to eventually irrigate an 

area of 350,000 hectares on its banks in 

Huíla and neighbouring provinces. The 

project will raise crop output and improve 

the pastures for cattle. 

Thanks to Matala’s position within 

Brazuk Ltd 

All the world’s a stage: Lubango girls at play 

Lush vegetation in downtown Lubango 

rich farmlands, new food-processing and 

storage facilities are being completed to 

make best use of the excess output. This 

will solve the problem of wastage while 

adding value and income for farmers as 

well as stimulating higher output. 

With this in mind, a tomato-paste 

factory will shortly reopen at nearby 

Kapelongo, as will wheat flour and maize 

mills. Other units will be built to process 

and pack fruit juice. 

Afonso Pedro Canga, Angola’s minister 

for agriculture and rural development, 

inaugurated a maize-drying facility along 

with three grain storage silos, each with 

a capacity for 4,000 tons, at Matala in 

May 2012, showing that the area has an 

important role to play in Angola’s quest 

for food security. 

Tundavala’s wild landscape 

“Huíla is an agricultural province with 

good land. Our priorities are to develop 

agricultural storage capacity and process 

farm produce locally. Industry has to 

initiate local production and create more 

jobs,” says Paula Filomena Joaquim. ‘‘Huíla 

has expanded a lot over the last five years 

and its industry continues to grow well.” 

The Matala dam is currently 

undergoing a $255 million makeover to 

dredge its reservoir and raise its waterholding 

capacity, while also expanding 

electricity output to 40 megawatts from 26 

megawatts at present. The extra energy will 

underwrite Huíla’s industrial expansion. 

Gangelas 

A second more-compact irrigated 

area is the Gangelas project located in 

the Chibia area, based on a dam and two 

14km-long water channels. Government 

investment since 2009 is already bearing 

fruit at Gangelas and providing local jobs. 

In phase one of the revamped 

infrastructure project, local producers’ 

association Sogangelas farms cereals, 

beans and vegetables and has recently 

planted 18 hectares of fruit trees including 

oranges, lemons and mangoes. 

At present, 1,990 hectares are being 

cultivated out of a total of 6,220 hectares. 

Phases two and three of the project will 

not only farm the remaining area, but also 

process produce such as juice, then store 

and trade it via a logistics centre. Gangelas 

has a production target of 48,000 tonnes of 

food a year in 2015. 

There are plans under way to provide 

sufficient electricity from the dam to power 

the Gangelas irrigation pumping system. 

There is also a project to develop fishing 

as a tourist attraction at the dam reservoir. 

Cattle 

Huíla is also famous in Angola for 

its great concentration of cattle. Nearly a 

million graze pasture in the province. These 

cows are mainly owned by professional 

ranchers, but some are still kept by 

nomadic and semi-nomadic herders such 

as the exuberantly necklaced and bangled 

Mwilas of the Nyaneka peoples. 

The ranchers have become increasingly 

professional and connected to 

international breeders, and exotic cattle 

breeds are being imported in greater numbers. 

While most Angolan cattle are of the 

hardy and well-adapted Zebu, Africander 

and St Gertrude breeds, in recent years 

there have been imports of imposing beef 

cattle such as the stocky Bonsmara. Huíla’s 

farmers have also imported dairy cattle 

such as Jerseys and Friesians. 

Huíla’s well-organised ranchers 

prosperously dominate the southern 

farm regions and are now expanding their 

businesses further north to Kwanza Sul 

and Benguela and nearer to main coastal 

markets. The aim is to cut meat imports by 

30 per cent within four to five years. 


Brazuk Ltd 

Brazuk Ltd 

Brazuk Ltd

PROVINCE 

SPORTING SUCCESS SPORTING SUCCESS 

View of Namibe from Tundavala 

Mwila women 

Local cattle breed 

The aim is to cut meat imports by 

30 per cent within four to five years 

Eric Lafforgue 

Brazuk Ltd 

All cattle herders and ranchers are 

benefiting from government vaccination 

campaigns and improved technical 

assistance. There are, however, some 

sources of conflict between fenced-in 

ranchers and arable farmers on one side 

and nomadic herders on the other. To 

reduce the trampling of crops and grazingrights 

disputes, an EU-backed project has 

developed corridor routes with watering 

facilities for seasonal cattle movements for 

traditional herders. 

Tourism 

Kostadin Luchansky 

Huíla is one of Angola’s most 

attractive tourist destinations thanks to 

its mild climate, mountains, fauna, flora 

and national park. The emblematic Huíla 

image is the switchback road that slithers 

over the western edge of the Serra da Leba 

mountain chain. 

Other spectacular locations are the 

Tundavala Gap, 2,200 metres above sea level, 

where a sheer, rocky cliff affords spectacular 

mountain-top views west through a gorge 

1,200 metres down to the lower hills of 

neighbouring Namibe province. 

Tundavala’s bushy boulder-strewn 

plateau is also an important bird-watching 

area and pasture for semi-nomadic herders. 

Nearby Lubango hosts Africa’s third-largest 

bird-skin collection – a treat for serious 

ornithologists. Huíla is also home to the 

Bicuar National Park. 

Lubango already boasts decent 

modern hotels that charge half the price 

of those in the capital, and relatively cheap 

flights from Luanda. 

All Huíla’s ingredients are in or 

about to be put into the development 

pot: They include new air, rail and road 

infrastructure; greater farming production 

and industry to process it; and an exciting 

revival of the mining sector. Projects to 

improve energy and water supplies as 

well as telecommunications will also soon 

come to fruition. Huíla’s future prosperity 

is assured. p 

The emblematic Huíla image is the 

switchback road that slithers over 

the western edge of the Serra da 

Leba mountain chain 

11 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SONANGOL UNIVERSO 12 


Brazuk Ltd 

Brazuk Ltd

CULTURE 

LIVING LEGENDS 

IN CONCERT 

Angola’s music experienced a golden period in the 1960s and 1970s; 

Universo looks at the comeback by some of the leading artists of 

that era and their impact on the contemporary music scene k 

The return to the public eye 

of some historically popular 

Angolan musicians last year 

invited comparisons with the 

massively successful Buena Vista Social 

Club in Cuba, where some octogenarian 

artists cut a world best-selling record and 

featured in a documentary made by a top 

international film-maker. 

Conjunto Angola 70 is a new grouping 

of veteran musicians originating in 

different bands who resurfaced in the 

public consciousness after a compilation 

album of their work Angola Soundtrack 

was released in 2010. 

Respected music critic Robin 

Denselow of the UK’s Guardian 

newspaper described the album “A 

rousing and intriguing compilation... well 

worth checking out”. The London Evening 

Standard also raved, calling it “Stunning... 

Glorious music captured in its prime and 

re-presented with style”. 

The individuals making up Conjunto 

were Angolan stars in their own right or 

who had belonged to popular bands in the 

period at the end of the 1960s and early 

1970s. Their music, semba, an African 

root rhythm that later flowered in the 

shape of Brazilian samba, was one of the 

soundtracks to the turbulent period which 

saw Angola gain independence in 1975. 

Later, more-commercial influences 

entered the country and, for some, the 

authentic Angolan sound began to fade 

and the musicians to disappear from the 

public consciousness. 

Boto Trindade from The Bongos and 

lead guitarist Teddy N’Singui were the 

nuclei for the revivalist project. The two 

contacted other former stars and within 

less than a month they had put a band 

together that became known as Conjunto 

Angola 70 (The Angola 70 Band). 

Other group members are Trinity 

Dúlcio – rhythm guitar; Carlitos ‘Calili’ 

Timóteo – bass guitar; Joãozinho Margado 

– drums; Raúl Tolingas – dikanza (an 

Angolan grooved bamboo instrument 

which is stroked with a thin stick); Chico 

Montenegro – congas; and Gregório 

Mulatu – singer and percussion. 

However, it was only in May 2011 

that the new line-up gave their first 

performance together. The venue was 

the Elinga Theatre in downtown Luanda, 

where the band delighted the old and the 

not so old. 

The group followed this up with 

a European tour in October promoted 

by Mano a Mano Productions (Angola) 

and Analog Africa (Germany). The first 

performance was at the Global Club in 

Copenhagen, Denmark. The group then 

went on to play at five venues in the 

Netherlands and Belgium. 

The tour was supported by Sonangol, 

Angolan insurer ENSA and the Dutch and 

German embassies in Luanda. 

Mano a Mano Productions produced 

the tour in partnership with Analog 

Africa (Germany), a record label which 

specialises in classic African vinyl. The 

tour was marketed by Dutch promoters 

RASA Music & Dance. 

The aim of the Angola Conjunto 70 

project is to make the music of Angola of 

40 and 50 years ago known to the world 

today. “The music of that era marked a 

turning point in the history of Angola 

[before and after independence]”, 

say Mano a Mano producer Otiniel 

da Silva and Samy Ben Redjeb of 

Analog Africa. 

The producers say the idea is to sell 

the product to the largest international 

producers and show promoters, so that 

Angola’s culture gets the space it deserves 

on the global cultural scene. 

After the concert in the Dutch city 

of Groningen, proposals were made 

for the group to play in the United 

States, Australia, South Korea and other 

countries, says Otiniel. 

Universo wishes Angola Conjunto 70 

renewed success and thanks Otiniel and Samy 

for rescuing this important part of Angola’s 

musical heritage. p 

* Angola Conjunto 70 can be contacted 

via Mano a Mano Productions; 

telephone Luanda +244 923-824-618 

or email otinielfs@gmail.com 


Malocha 

Pieter de Wulf 

CULTURE 

Pieter de Wulf

SPORT 

GOING 

FOR GOLD Athletes 

As Angola prepares its Olympic hopefuls for the London 

2012 Paralympic Games, Universo previews the country’s 

efforts in this growing segment of sporting activity k 

London 2012 

A 

ngola will send seven athletes to 

the London 2012 Paralympics 

which take place between August 

29 and September 9. 

The squad includes the team’s talisman 

and now veteran athlete José Armando 

Sayovo. He will be accompanied by fellow 

runners Octávio dos Santos, Miguel 

Francisco, Joaquim Manuel and Martinho 

da Chela. Sayovo, Santos, Francisco and 

Manuel were the first Angolan para-athletes 

to qualify for London 2012. 

They were later joined by female track 

hopefuls Maria da Silva and Esperança 

Gicasso. Maria da Silva is African paraathletic 

record holder in the 200 metres. 

Strong support 

The Angolan government is wholeheartedly 

supporting its estimated 150,000 

disabled citizens with policies designed 

to integrate them socially, said Gonçalves 

Muandumba, Minister for Youth and Sport. 

“It has been the preoccupation of 

head of state José Eduardo dos Santos to 

create policies and legislation to support 

the rights of the disabled. This was seen 

with the approval in May of the setting up 

of the National Council for the Disabled,” 

he said. 

Reaffirming its commitment to the 

Paralympics teams, the government also 

backed the sport’s African section conference 

in May where Leonel da Rocha Pinto, the 

president of Angola’s Paralympic Committee, 

was re-elected as president of the African 

Paralympic Committee until 2016. 

going to London 

The African committee has also 

gained new offices at the Cidadela 

Stadium in Luanda. 

Preparation 

At the end of May, the team set off 

for a 15-day training camp in Lubango 

in the cool highlands of southern 

Angola with a view to adapting to 

London’s climate. 

The Paralympics team will then 

have training sessions in Cuba before 

heading for Bedford, England, for final 

intensive training ahead of the Games. 

Bedford is 76km north of London and 

will be hosting 14 Paralympics and 

one Olympics team, almost all of them 

from Africa. 

Speaking at an event organised 

to mark the 100 days before the 

Olympics, Richard Wildash, Britain’s 

Ambassador to Angola, described 

Angola’s participation in the Olympics 

and Paralympics in London as “an 

excellent opportunity to showcase a 

new country that is developing in an 

extraordinary way. In itself, sport has 

the potential to bring together the 

integration of cultures, nations and 

ethnic groups.” 

Paralympics team trainer José 

Manuel believes Angola has the chance 

to gain three gold medals in London 

with the most likely winners being José 

Sayovo and Octávio dos Santos in the 

100 and 200 metres. 

We wish them good luck! p 

Place of birth 

José Armando Sayovo ............................................................................................. Luanda 

Octávio dos Santos .................................................................................................. Luanda 

Miguel Francisco ...................................................................................................... Luanda 

Joaquim Manuel ........................................................................................................... Huíla 

Martinho da Chela ....................................................................................................Namibe 

Maria da Silva ........................................................................................................ unknown 

Esperança Gicasso ................................................................................................ Malange 

José Armando Sayovo 

José Armando Sayovo is Angola’s most 

successful athlete. He was triple Paralympics 

gold-medal winner at Athens in 2004 and set 

records in the 100-, 200- and 400-metre races. 

Sayovo followed this up with three silver 

medals at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics Games. 

In recognition of his inspirational 

stature, Sayovo has been asked to be a 

special ambassador for the UN to promote 

social causes by the organisation’s president 

Ban Ki-moon. “I recommend all disabled 

Angolans to take up a sport. It does you 

good. And you can even be a champion and 

win medals,” says Sayovo. 

The runner, who lost his sight aged 26 

after a landmine explosion, says adapting to 

blindness was not easy but that there was 

help available which made it possible for him 

to be rehabilitated into society. 

He is confident that Angola will do well 

in London after the team’s preparatory 

training courses. 


Jornal Da Saúde Angola 

BP Angola 

London 2012 

London 2012 

London 2012 

London 2012

■ Sonangol board member Anabela Fonseca was 

re-elected non-executive president of the African 

Refiners Association (ARA) at its March conference 

in Morocco. Angola has led ARA since March 2011. 

Fonseca will occupy the post until 2013. 

The central theme of this year’s meeting was 

‘The Development of African Downstream’. 

Fonseca, accompanied by Ana Joaquina da Costa, 

president of Luanda’s refinery, along with Baltazar 

Miguel, a board member of Sonangol’s Luanda refinery, 

and João Silva, director of new business at Sonaci 

(Sonangol Comercialização Internacional), took part in the 

inauguration of ARA’s new offices in Abidjan in May. ARA 

represents refiners in Angola, Algeria, Egypt, Sudan, Libya, 

Zambia, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, 

Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic 

of Congo, Gabon and the Republic of Congo. 

Communication Affairs Department 

Sonangol news briefing Sonangol news briefing 

ARA presidency confirmed Shipyard nears 



Pierre François Photographie 


completion 

■ Porto Amboim’s shipyard project is on schedule for completion 

in June. Sonangol is supporting the development, which covers 

an area of 23 hectares, in partnership with South Korea’s 

Daewoo and Singapore’s SBW Shipyard. 

The shipyard project, begun in 2007, aims to produce 

vessels to support Angola’s burgeoning offshore oil and gas 

operations. It will also provide ancillary services such as boat 

repairs, metal working, oil-production equipment and buoys. 

Cabinda drilling starts 

■ Sonangol’s exploration arm, Sonangol P&P, began drilling in the 

Cabinda Norte on-shore field in April. The block is located in the 

municipalities of Cacongo and Buco Zau. 

Block director Ernesto Pedro Taya told the Angop news 

agency that Sonangol is now ready to accelerate drilling operations 

after the completion of seismic surveys of the concession area. 

Taya added that he expected Sonangol’s work in the area would 

stimulate new jobs for local people. 

Raising standards 

■ The First International Conference on 

Company Certification in Angola took 

place in Luanda from March 27 to 29. 

The event was promoted by Sonangol 

EP in partnership with the Ministry of Oil, 

Total Angola and the Angolan Institute 

for Standardisation and Quality. 

The aim of the conference was 

to publicise best practices and make 

Angolan companies aware of the use of 

international standards for quality, job 

safety and environmental protection. 

On opening the event, Sonangol 

board member Sebastião Gaspar 

Martins said that certification for any 

company was a factor for development, 

given that it made it more transparent 

to the market that an organisation was 

seeking to obtain high-quality standards. 

Filomena Rosa, president of the 

executive commission of Sonangol 

Distribuidora, Sonangol’s distribution 

arm, said that company certification 

was the only way for a business to 

professionalise and ensure its growth in 

the Angolan market. 

Block 31 production 

on track 

■ Production is scheduled to begin in Block 31 in the second 

half of the year, Dow Jones Newswires reports. The block is 

expected to reach peak oil output of 150,000 barrels per day 

between 2013 and 2014. Sonangol’s partners in the venture 

are BP, Exxon Mobil, Statoil, China Sonangol International and 

Marathon Oil. 


IStock Photo 

IStock Photo 

IStock Photo


SPORTING SUCCESS SPORTING SUCCESS 

Sonangol opts for 

renewable energy 

■ Sonangol is installing solar panels and wind generators to power its communications 

equipment alongside Angola’s highways. 

According to Sonangol’s co-ordinator for the environment, Maria Luísa Ndembo, a 

pilot project at Cabo Ledo in the south of Luanda province has proved successful, and 

the next step is to implement the project between Benguela and Kuito. Here, seven new 

renewable, energy systems will be installed; six will be solar-powered and one wind 

powered. The equipment will replace generators using fossil fuels. 

Sonaref trans-africa pipeline plan 

■ A pipeline connecting Sonangol’s proposed new 

refinery (Sonaref) at Lobito to Zambia’s Copperbelt 

has been mooted. 

Contracts for building the 200,000-barrels-aday 

refinery are expected to be awarded late 2013 

or early 2014. Sonaref would supply Zambia with 

several types of refined products such as petrol, 

diesel and aircraft fuel. 

The main mover behind the project is reported 

to be Zambia’s Basali Ba Liseli Resources. 

Zambia’s Copperbelt currently receives its oil 

products from the Middle East via Tanzania. 

IStock Photo 

SIIND adds 

more industrial 

units at Viana 

■ Mines and Industry Minister Joaquim 

David inaugurated six new industrial 

units at the Luanda-Bengo Special 

Economic Zone at Viana at the end of May. 

The new factories bring the total at the site 

co-ordinated by Sonangol Investimentos 

Industriais (SIIND) to 14 and job numbers 

up to 3,600. Investment in the new units is 

estimated to be worth $78 million. 

Manufactured items now include foam 

and spring mattresses, cushions, high-density 

plastic pipes and joints, PVC, medium- and 

low-voltage electrical equipment, cables, 

transformers and insulators. 

SIIND’s executive commission plans 

to have a total of 26 industrial units up 

and running by the beginning of 2013, 

expanding to 53 units by 2014. 

Established in October 2010, SIIND 

performs the role of promoting, developing 

and co-ordinating the management of 

industrial projects on behalf of Sonangol EP 

and its subsidiaries. 

Tribute: Dr Alberto Serafim Araújo 

■ Dr Alberto Serafim Araújo, 

known affectionately as ‘Beto 

Araújo’, passed away on 

April 11. Dr Araújo had been 

president of the executive 

commission of MSTelcom SA, 

Sonangol’s telecommunications 

subsidiary, since 2008, having 

spent a total of 34 years in the 

Sonangol group. 

Born in Luanda in 1958, 

Dr Araújo joined the MPLA 

guerrilla movement in Congo 

Brazzaville in 1974 and took 

part in the defence of Luanda. 

Wounded in combat, he was 

demobilised in 1978 and then 

joined Sonangol, initially in 

the operational services office 

and then in the studies and 

projects department. 

He later took a degree 

in economic science at the 

University of Saint-Étienne, 

France. In 1988, he joined 

Sonangol Distribuidora, where 

he rose to be head of the 

finance and planning office by 

June 1992. 

Dr Araújo, pictured left and 

inset left, had a strong personal 

interest in the protection of the 

environment and biodiversity. 

Sonangol Universo offers 

its condolences to Dr Araújo’s 

family and friends. 


IStock Photo 

Sonangol GCI Archives 

Sonangol GCI Archives

LNG 

LNG 

LNG 


ANGOLAN GAS 

GOES TO MARKET 

Angola is about to initiate shipping operations of liquefied natural gas 

(LNG) and add a new income stream alongside its huge crude oil exports. 

Universo examines the country’s first foray into this lucrative trade k 

The $10 billion Angola LNG (ALNG) 

project at Soyo, Zaire province, in 

the north-west of the country, is 

now largely completed, tested 

and set to start exporting its first cargoes of 

liquefied natural gas. 

Shipping tests including mooring and 

loading took place in May with the LNG 

tanker vessel Sambizanga, and regular 

exports will begin after official plant 

inauguration in late June, just five years 

since the giant project was initiated. 

ALNG’s target market is no longer 

the United States but Asia and Europe, 

where gas commands much higher prices. 

US prices have dropped dramatically, 

thanks to the rapid development of 

shale gas unleashed by new drilling and 

extraction techniques known as ‘fracking’. 

This involves the use of explosives 

deep underground to release trapped 

pockets of gas. 

At the same time, Asian prices have 

been boosted by the extra demand 

caused by the emergency shutdown of 

the nuclear facility at Fukushima, Japan, 

after a tsunami hit the site following an 

earthquake. European prices, where 

demand is buoyant, are still three to four 

times higher than the current US price 

of around $2 per million British thermal 

units (MMBtu). 

The timing of the plant start-up is 

favourable as delivery prices for June have 

soared up to $17 per MMBtu in Asia. 

The 5.2-million-ton capacity Soyo LNG 

plant could earn over $4 billion a year if 

prices stay at the current level – an important 

addition to the country’s export income. 

Angola LNG partners 

Environmental benefits 

ALNG is currently Angola’s largest 

investment enterprise and is a huge 

step towards adding extra value to its 

hydrocarbon resources, allowing the 

country to develop and benefit from its 

natural gas deposits. 

Thanks to the project, the gas is 

now being piped ashore instead of being 

burnt off as a waste by-product from oil 

drilling. The wholesale stoppage of routine 

flaring has also contributed to reducing 

Angola’s greenhouse gas emissions with 

long-term environmental benefits for 

the planet. 

Some of the natural gas, 125 million 

cubic feet per day, will be piped ashore for 

Sonangol’s domestic use. This will provide 

a cheap energy source for Angolans and 

help to replace electricity generators 

currently burning less-clean diesel oil. 

“This is a huge venture, which has 

involved building a new company from 

scratch in a remote corner of Angola,” says 

Craig Bloomer, ALNG project director. 

Sonangol ...................................................... 22.8% 

Chevron ........................................................ 36.4% 

Eni ................................................................. 13.6% 

Total .............................................................. 13.6% 

BP .................................................................. 13.6% 


Chevron 

Chevron


Environmental concern 

ALNG is conscious of its impact on the 

local community and the environment 

and has acted to address this 

throughout the construction process 

and beyond. 

The project team has created a 

comprehensive and positive relationship 

with local fishermen and fish 

traders. This includes protecting the 

mangrove swamps that act as fish 

hatcheries and habitats. 

In addition, it has improved fishing 

equipment by providing nets, floats, 

safety equipment, navigation lights, 

radar reflectors and rain jackets to 

help them fish at a safe distance from 

the ALNG site. 

ALNG has also provided training 

for safety at sea and equipment use. 

Before site preparation and the 

dredging of trenches for tanker access 

began in 2007, ALNG drew up an 

‘impact mitigation and development 

programme’. This identified and 

counted the fishermen and fish traders 

likely to be affected. It gave them 

identity cards and bank accounts so 

that any compensation due could be 

paid directly to them. 

ALNG also wanted to add value 

to the fishing industry by developing 

fish- cleaning and storage facilities 

employing local women. The processed 

fish now has improved consumer 

quality and commands a better price 

at market. 

The scheme has benefited from 

exchanges between ALNG team members 

and experts from Chevron’s Gorgon and 

Wheatstone LNG projects in Western 

Australia. Chevron Angola has the lead role 

in developing the ALNG operation. 

To make liquefied natural gas, 

ALNG gathers natural gas associated 

with oil production from offshore oilproducing 

fields and from a number of 

operators throughout Angola – unlike 

most LNG projects, which are supplied by 

only a few non-associated fields that are 

primarily gas wells. 

The gas is then transported through 

Sonangol’s 500km pipeline network to 

an onshore processing plant where it is 

cooled to minus 160 degrees centigrade. 

This process converts the gas into a 

much more compact liquid, roughly 

600-times smaller in volume, which can 

then be more conveniently shipped to 

customers around the world. The ALNG 

plant also produces condensate, propane 

and butane. The latter two are liquefied 

petroleum gas (LPG) ingredients and will 

enable Angola to be self-sufficient in the 

domestic fuel arena. 

Located on a 240-hectare site south of 

the Congo River near the city of Soyo, the 

plant includes LNG tanks and a loading 

jetty able to accept the docking of ships 

with capacities up to 210,000 cubic metres. 

Since ALNG began building the plant in 

2007, the project has been a major provider 

of jobs and has helped 4,500 local workers 

to develop skills. It has also created business 

opportunities for nearby companies. 

“Sonangol is intent on building 

industrial capacity and developing the 

Angolan workforce,” says Emanuel 

Leopoldo, ALNG operations manager. 

“ALNG also has a comprehensive training 

programme for its Angolan employees that 

will position fishermen well for career- 

advancement opportunities.” 

As part of this training, Chevron 

sent newly-hired Angolan workers for 

several months’ on-the-job practice at the 

company’s North American refineries. The 

ALNG project also acts as a catalyst for the 

development of Zaire province. 

“We show our commitment to the 

Soyo community by creating good jobs; 

sourcing goods and services locally; 

investing in infrastructure, education and 

health; and implementing various social 

projects,” says Laurentino da Silva, ALNG 

development manager for Chevron policy, 

government and public affairs. 

Infrastructure investments include 

improvements to roads, Soyo Airport and 

a community-housing development. 

ALNG plans to spend nearly $100 

million to renovate and expand 

the Soyo municipal hospital and 

the city’s electricity supply. It has 

also refurbished and expanded 

a local school to help improve 

education in Soyo. 

As part of the project, ALNG had a 

seven-ship fleet built at South Korean 

shipyards in time to carry the first 

shipments of the liquefied gas. The tankers, 

named in honour of towns and cities in 

Angola, are mid-size vessels relative to the 

worldwide LNG carrier fleet, which gives 

them the ability to trade in almost any LNG 

port in the world. 

Each is equipped to load a full 

shipment of LNG in 16 hours. When the 

plant is fully operational, it is expected 

that the ships will make about six loadings 

each month.p 

Preserving biodiversity 

ALNG protects biodiversity in all 

places where it operates, creating 

local partnerships and support for 

biodiversity schemes further afield. It 

also funds research and environmental 

education in schools and communities, 

publicising and promoting activities 

linked to protecting wildlife. 

ALNG is particularly strong in 

stimulating local participation in 

initiatives such as beach cleaning and 

monitoring the protection of mangrove 

swamps around the Soyo site. 

This is demonstrated in its 

extensive turtle-protection scheme, 

which goes far beyond minimising the 

impact of ALNG operations on turtleegg 

laying on local beaches. 

During the October to March 

laying period, ALNG-backed projects 

organise night patrols for turtle nest 

sites for the four species concerned, 

the green, leather-back, olive and 

big-head turtles. 

An educational programme is 

being undertaken by locally-contracted 

‘turtle guardians’. They patrol over ten 

miles of beach, identify and tag turtles 

and have built a hatchery. Turtles lay 

about 130 eggs each 15 days, but only 

one in a thousand will survive bird 

predators and reach adulthood. 

11 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SONANGOL UNIVERSO 12 


Chevron 

BP Angola 

Chevron

iStock Photo 

OIL & GAS 

OIL & GAS 


OIL AND GAS EVENT SETS AGENDA FOR 

Luanda hosted Angola’s international conference and exhibition on oil and gas in early May, 

attracting exhibitors and analysts from around the globe. Universo went along too k 

Francisco Maria, president of Sonangol E.P. (centre) 

José Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, minister of petroleum (right) 

The Angola International Oil & 

Gas Conference and Exhibition 

(AIOGACE) took place between 

May 7 and May 9 in downtown 

Luanda to celebrate the industry’s 

astounding growth over the past decade. 

The conference analysed Angola’s 

hydrocarbon exploration and production 

operations as well as how to add value to 

its reserves. 

The three-day event was held under 

the banner of ‘utilising and identifying 

new oil and gas resources for the benefit 

of Angola’s future generations’. Among 

those attending were specialists from 

Angola’s Ministry of Petroleum, Sonangol, 

the World Bank and international oil and 

gas companies. The event was hosted at 

Angola’s latest venue, the recently-opened 

five-star Epic Sana Luanda Hotel midway 

between the upper and lower city. 

The use of high technology 

has made Angola a 

world-class oil country 

In a speech made at the official 

opening, Minister of Petroleum José 

Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos said 

that the opening of the Angolan oil 

sector to international companies after 

independence in 1975 has been crucial to 

its rapid development in recent years. 

The government had successfully 

opted for an oil-sector policy offering 

attractive conditions for foreign 

investment, based on the principles of 

“reciprocal interests and mutual benefits”. 

The use of high technology had 

made Angola a world-class oil country, 

the minister said. In a strategy based on 

increasing natural gas and oil reserves, 

geophysical studies and mapping has led 

to the discovery of new exploration areas, 

which Angola is now exploiting. 

Vasconcelos identified these areas 

as the landward part of the Kwanza basin 

and the deep waters of the Kwanza and 

Namibe basins, as well as the ultra-deep 

basins of the Lower Congo and Kwanza. 

Priority in drilling, he said, has been given 

to the deep and ultra-deep basins of the 


Africa & Middle East Trade (AME) 






iStock Photo


OIL & GAS 

OIL & GAS 



Lula Ahrens 

Mr. Simba 

Angola had estimated oil reserves 

of 9.5 billion barrels, which could 

last more than 50 years at 

current production rates 


Kwanza as these are geologically related to Brazil’s Campos Basin, an area 

with abundant oil reserves. 

The minister also confirmed that the first shipment of liquefied 

natural gas from the Angola LNG project in Soyo, Zaire province, would 

take place in June this year and that annual production would reach 

5.2 million tonnes a year. He said he expected the project would have a 

positive impact on Angola’s economic growth and that its provision of 

butane or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for domestic use would make 

Angola self-sufficient in the product. 

Vasconcelos said Sonangol would also have at its disposal 125 million 

cubic feet of natural gas per day to produce power and for use by the 

petrochemical industry, increasing its economic impact on the sector. 

Speaking to the press, he said that Angola has estimated oil reserves 

of 9.5 billion barrels, which could last more than 50 years at current 

production rates. It also has 11 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough 

for the next 30 years. 

Discussions held at the various conference seminars included 

power production in Angola, the exploration of new oil and gas frontiers 

represented by promising subsalt deposits and had finance and 

management of risks involved in the country’s oil and gas projects. 

Other topics were the updating of current exploration and production 

techniques, the development of and challenges for the service sector in 

oilfields, and strategies for training and education in the oil and gas industry. 

Angola’s Ministry of Petroleum, the African Petroleum Producers 

(APPA) Fund for Technical Co-operation, and Africa & Middle East (AME) 

Trade promoted the event. p 

Conference topics 

• An update on current exploration and 

production activities 

• Exploring the unknown: Presalt: Angola’s 

new exploration frontier 

• LNG and gas: The future of Angola’s 

energy production 

• Technological innovations in exploration 

and production 

• Developments and challenges in oilfield 

services sectors 

• Angola’s activities in joint development 

zones and in projects outside of Angola 

• Finance and risk management in Angola’s 

oil and gas projects 

• Angola’s fiscal, legal and regulatory 

environment 

• Empowering Angola’s entrepreneurs and 

small and medium-sized enterprises to 

succeed in the oil and gas sector 

• Training and education strategies in 

Angola’s oil and gas industry 

• Corporate social responsibility projects in 

Angola: Case studies 

• Data management and information 

technology in Angola’s oil and gas industry 

• Angola’s downstream sector: Transport, 

logistics, supply chain and trading 

• Roundtable discussion: on The challenges 

and goals for the next decade of Angola’s 

oil and gas industry 


Mr. Simba 




Event entertainer 


iStock Photo

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