On 25 February 2025, Angola’s state-owned enterprise Sonangol revealed that it has initiated talks with China to secure a loan of $4.8 billion to finance the construction of a new refinery in Lobito. Sonangol has already selected China National Chemical Engineering as the main contractor for the project and with the support of that Chinese company, it has contacted several Chinese financial institutions. US engineering consulting firm KBR will supervise and manage the project<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The total cost of the Lobito Oil Refinery is estimated at USD 6.2 billion and Sonangol will invest USD 1.4 billion of its own money. The refinery will have an annual capacity of 200,000 barrels per day (bpd and would take two years to be completed. It will surpass the 65,000-bpd Luanda refinery to become Angola’s largest when completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Angola was one of the first African countries to sign up for a resource-for-infrastructure deal with China. However, due to certain issues, both sides are moving away from that model. In addition, China appears to be much more circumspect about big-ticket items as its own economy slows down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n