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UniversoISSUE 46 | JUNE 2015

www.universo-magazine.com

INTERNATIONAL

CUBA: ANGOLA’S ENDURING ALLY

UPSTREAM

BP’S OPERATIONS IN ANGOLA

CULTURE

IMAGES OF THE ANGOLAN PEOPLE

Angolan oil drilling at 100

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2 SONANGOL UNIVERSO

STEP CHANGE IN DEVELOPMENT

A ngola’s thirteenth year of peace, celebrated on April 4,

marks a step change in the nation’s development. The

previous dozen years were a period of reconstruction,

of putting the country’s infrastructure to rights: renovating port

facilities; completing, in February, a total rebuild of its three east–

west railways; modernising all airports; and, most importantly,

reconnecting the capital city, Luanda, by highway to its provincial

capitals spread across a huge territory.

Now, the foundations of economic development have been

laid, and the next step is to use them to provide the exchange of

goods and services that can enhance Angolans’ standard of living

and quality of life.

An excellent example of this is the inauguration of Luanda’s

first modern purpose-built long-distance national bus terminal

by Macon Transportes in May.

The new terminal operates 80 outbound journeys and has the

capacity to receive 7,000 passengers coming and going each day

to all but one of Angola’s 18 provinces. The buses also operate a

much-needed nationwide parcel delivery service.

The fruits of development, long dreamed of through many

difficult decades, are now becoming a much-appreciated reality.

John Kolodziejski

Editor

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OVERVIEW

Universo is the international magazine of Sonangol

PresidentFrancisco de Lemos José Maria

Executive administrators:Anabela Soares de Brito da Fonseca,

Ana Joaquina Van-Dúnem Alves da Costa, Fernandes Gaspar Bernardo Mateus,

Fernando Joaquim Roberto, Mateus Sebastião Francisco Neto,

Paulino Fernando Carvalho Jerónimo

Non-executive administrators:Albina Assis Africano, José Gime,

André Lelo, José Paiva

Sonangol Department for Communication & Image Director

Mateus Cristóvão Benza

Corporate Communications Assistants Nadiejda Santos, Paula Almeida, Hélder Sirgado, Kimesso Kissoka

Publisher: Sheila O’Callaghan

Editor: John Kolodziejski

Managing Editor: Mauro Perillo

Art Director: Tony Hill

Sub Editor: Brian MacReamoinn

Proofreading: Gail Nelson-Bonebrake

Circulation & Production Manager: Matthew Alexander

Production Assistant: Sebnem Brown

Project Consultant: Nathalie MacCarthy

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:

[email protected]: 15,000

Davenport House, 16 Pepper Street, London E14 9RP United Kingdom

Tel + 44 20 7510 9595 | Fax +44 20 7510 [email protected]

www.sonangol.co.ao [email protected]

Universo is printed on FSC approved stock

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Front cover: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

SONANGOL UNIVERSO 3

4 3 NEWS BRIEFING

A roundup of national and international news concerning Sonangol and Angola.

10 3 THOUGHT FOR FOOD: ANGOLA AT MILAN EXPO

Angolan cuisine in the spotlight.

14 3 SPECIAL AWARD FOR SPECIAL ZONE

Luanda-Bengo industrial scheme gains recognition for quality.

18 3 FACES OF A NATION

Exhibition shows the variety of Angola’s indigenous peoples.

24 3 SOUTHERN ANGOLA: GREAT EXPECTATIONS

The tremendous economic potential of Namibe, Huíla, Cunene and Cuando Cubango provinces.

32 3 BLOSSOMING PARTNERSHIP

The special relationship between Sonangol and BP Angola.

42 3 A CENTURY OF OIL DRILLING 1915–2015

The remarkable progress of Angolan oil exploration.

44 3 CUBA: ANGOLA’S ENDURING ALLY

Education and health underpin four decades of bilateral co-operation.

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CONTENTS

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3 Angola’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to

grow this year at a rate of 4.5 per cent and then slow

to 3.9 per cent in 2016, according to the International

Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recent World Economic

Outlook. Last year Angola’s GDP grew 4.2 per cent, the

report said.

The IMF also noted that inflation in the country

could increase from 7.3 per cent in 2014 to 8.4 per cent

this year as a result of falling world oil prices.

Angolan GDP set to rise

NEWS BRIEFING

4 SONANGOL UNIVERSO

THIRD LARGEST BRIDGE BUILT3 Angola opened its third largest bridge in Namibe province in April.

Local governor Rui Falcão recently inaugurated the bridge, spanning the

River Curoca.

It connects the city of Namibe, the provincial capital, to the major

fishing industry town of Tômbua, 97km away.

Construction of the 800-metre-long, 11-metre-wide bridge took

20 months, and can bear loads of up to 100 tonnes.

3 Angola’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (FSDEA) is making investments totalling

$1.4 billion available at home and elsewhere in Africa. The mining, forestry

and agriculture sectors will receive $250 million each, while a healthcare

fund will benefit from a $400 million injection.

The fund is also setting aside a further $250 million to provide credit for

entrepreneurs who do not have access to traditional debt funding.

FSDEA chief José Filomeno dos Santos said the financial help aims to ease

Angola’s fiscal dependence on oil revenues at a time of weak energy markets.

“Given the current difficult fiscal context, these investments are

extremely opportune because they can support the economic development

required to reduce state reliance on crude oil revenues,” he pointed out.

WEALTH FUND INVESTS $1.4 BILLION

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NEWS BRIEFING

SONANGOL UNIVERSO 5

WEALTH FUND INVESTS $1.4 BILLION

CINGUVU FIELD ON STREAM3 Sonangol operating partner, Italy’s Eni, has begun oil output at

the second field in the West Hub Development Project. Cinguvu

started production two weeks ahead of schedule and is located in

Block 15/06, about 350km northwest of Luanda and 130km west of

Soyo. The first field on stream was Sangos last November. Sangos

and Cinguvu together currently produce 60,000 bpd and are

scheduled to be joined by a third field, Mpungi, by the end of 2015.

West Hub comprises the Sangos, Cinguvu, Mpungi, Mpungi

North and Vandumbu fields situated in water depths between

1,000 and 1,500 metres. The wells are connected to FPSO N’Goma

which has a processing capacity of 100,000 bpd.

Eni has estimated Block 15/06 holds over 3 billion barrels

of oil. Further discoveries there will be hooked up to the existing

production infrastructures.

“This is another important step within the innovative hub-

building strategy at the base of our success in Block 15/06 in

Angola,” said Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi. The Cinguvu field came

on stream on time and on budget, he added, and confirmed

the company’s “excellent track record in terms of efficiency,

technology and innovation.”

Eni operates Block 15/06 with a 35 per cent stake, and

Sonangol EP is the concessionaire. Sonangol P&P also owns

a 35 per cent share, while Angola-based SSI Fifteen Ltd has a

25 per cent stake and Falcon Oil Holding Angola 5 per cent.

3 Angola’s vice president, Manuel Domingos Vicente,

representing President dos Santos, attended the ceremony

marking the 60th anniversary of the signing of the ‘Bandung

Declaration’ in Indonesia. Bandung, 150 km from the capital,

Jakarta, hosted world leaders at the commemoration after

they attended the Asia/Africa Summit held April 22-23.

Attendees included prominent African and Asian leaders

such as the president of China, Xi Jinping and Iran’s president

Hassan Rouhani.

VP at Bandung summit

FPSO N’Goma fitting out at Sumbe

Vice president Manuel Vicente with his Zambian counterpart Inonge Wina

SBM

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Angola’s big buoy

3 Angola and the Democratic Republic of

the Congo’s (DRC) joint oil project in Block

14 is set to start up this year and is expected

to reach 36,000 bpd, said Angolan oil

minister José Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos

during a visit by Congolese President Denis

Sassou Nguesso to its neighbour at the end

of March.

The two countries are jointly developing

a deep-sea oil exploration area covering

700 sq km centred on the Lianzi field, which

straddles their maritime border. It has

estimated reserves of 70 million barrels.

“There is oil on the Angolan side, as well

as on the Congo side, and a decision was

made for a joint operation in which funding

will be split 50-50,” Botelho de Vasconcelos

said. The agreement dates back to 2011.

The project has an estimated cost of

$2 billion.

The consortium is operated by Chevron US

(15.75 per cent) and includes Total E&P Congo

(26.75 per cent), Cabinda Gulf Oil Company

Ltd (15.5 per cent), Sonangol (10 per cent),

TotalFinaElf (10 per cent), Eni (10 per cent),

Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (7.5

per cent) and Galp Energia (4.5 per cent).

3 Puma Energy opened one of the world’s largest

conventional buoy mooring systems (CBMs) in Luanda Bay on

April 21. The fuel-loading buoy anchored offshore serves as a

strategic mooring point for Africa and allows a wide range of

carriers to berth while loading or offloading oil products. The

CBM is located next to Puma Energy’s Fishing Port Terminal

in the bay, which Puma is currently extending and when

completed will have a total storage capacity of 276,000 m3.

The CBM can accommodate vessels up to 225,000

tonnes and drafts of 19.3 metres. It has a product transfer

rate of 4,000 m3 per hour. The mooring buoys are fitted with

navigational aids to assist with more effective, safer and

more environmentally-friendly tanker loading and berthing.

Pierre Eladari, CEO of Puma Energy, said that this CBM

facility in Luanda would provide security of supply to and

from Angola as well as the rest of Africa.

The new system is part of the government’s long-term

strategic objective to improve the country’s infrastructure.

Puma Energy first came to Angola in 2004 as a partner

for Sonangol, and today operates four businesses there:

Pumangol Retail, a petrol station network; Pumangol

B2B, a fuel wholesaler; Pumangol Bunkering, supplying

fuel for vessels, and AngoBetumes, for bitumen storage

and distribution.

ANGOLA–DRC JOINT VENTURE

NEWS BRIEFING

Puma Energy’s new mooring system

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SONANGOL UNIVERSO 7

NEWS BRIEFING

Huge diamond found in Angola

Sonangol signs quality deal with Total3 Sonangol Academia, the educational arm of Sonangol EP, has signed

a cooperation agreement with Total E&P aimed at improving technical

training and certification in its School of Safety. The school, based at

Cacuaco just north of Luanda, provides training in health, safety and the

environment for workers operating in the oil sector.

Baltazar Miguel, Sonangol Academia’s board president, and Jean-

Michel Lavergne, head of Total E&P Angola, signed the agreement on

behalf of the two organisations on May 16.

3 An exceptional diamond weighing 63.05 carats has been found at the

Lulo mine in Angola. The mine is located in Lunda Norte province and

is a joint venture between Australian company Lucapa Diamond and

the Angolan government.

The Lulo concession is a source of Type IIa diamonds, which Lupaca

says are “the world’s rarest and most valuable gems”. This category

of precious stone accounts for less than 1 per cent of total supply and

contains the world’s most famous large, white, flawless diamonds.

Angola is the world’s fourth largest diamond producer by value

and sixth by volume.

3 Angola’s foreign minister, Georges Rebelo Chikoti,

and his Ecuadoran counterpart, Ricardo Armando Patinõ

Aroca, signed three agreements paving the way to greater

cooperation on May 19.

During the South American foreign minister’s two

day visit to Angola, he sealed agreements that could

facilitate cooperation in the oil sector, and also university

training for Angolan students, especially in information

technology, in the South American country.

Minister Aroca also held working visits with Angola’s

oil minister Botelho de Vasconcelos, Sonangol board

president Francisco de Lemos Maria, Environment

minister Maria de Fátima Monteiro Jardim and the

Governor of Luanda, Francisco Graciano Domingos.

ANGOLA AND ECUADOR MOVE CLOSER

3 Sonangol won the prize for best Angolan participant

at the 2015 Benguela International Fair held May 13-17.

Subsidiaries Sonangol Distribuidora, SonAir,

Sonagás and SIIND represented the company at the

fifth edition of the fair at the Ombaka National Stadium.

The fair was attended by 200 exhibitors from Angola and

abroad, with 10 companies coming fom Portugal alone.

SONANGOL WINS BENGUELA FAIR PRIZE

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NEWS BRIEFING

Luanda’s new InterContinental Hotel

President awards best cities

Panoramic view of Accra

3 The winners of President José Eduardo dos Santos’ first African

Mayor Awards for excellence in leadership and achievements in urban

development have been announced.

The cities chosen were Accra, Ghana (a $200,000 prize in the ‘Best

Large City’ category), Kinondoni, Tanzania ($100,000 for best medium city)

and Praia, Cape Verde ($50,000 for best small city).

The presentation took place during the Second Africa Urban

Infrastructure Investment Forum held on March 29-30, 2015, in Luanda.

Speaking at the ceremony, the organiser and publisher of African

Business magazine, Omar Ben Yedder, said that the African Mayor Awards

recognise, celebrate and reward city leaders or governors who are helping

transform Africa’s growing metropolises.

“The winning cities tonight are being led by individuals who are showing

essential leadership qualities as they help build cities that work,” he said.

“And we will need more exemplary leadership, good governance and

innovative thinking, while paying close attention to our culture and way of

living when dreaming of the cities of tomorrow. Our leaders need to be close

to the people, and our winners tonight are demonstrating these qualities.”

3 Angola will have another 2,000 hotel rooms by the end

of 2015, promised the State Secretary for Hotels and

Tourism Paulino Baptista Domingos while speaking in

Luena, Moxico province, during the inauguration of the

Hotel Kawissa.

The extra capacity will arise from the opening of 25

new hotels, including the 390-room InterContinental

Hotel under construction in Luanda and the Hotel

Palanca Negra in Malange, with 146 rooms.

Domingos said the new hotel units would make it

possible to create thousands of new jobs in a sector that

already employs more than 202,000 people. The Ministry

of Hotels and Tourism currently has 14,000 rooms

registered, spread over 185 hotels, 88 tourist villages,

14 apartment hotels and six inns.

SURGE IN HOTEL ACCOMMODATION

NEW TERMINAL COMPLEX OPENS3 President José Eduardo dos Santos has inaugurated a commuter

boat and tourist terminal located alongside the new Slavery Museum

complex in the Benfica district of Luanda. The opening ceremony

formed part of the April 4 Peace and National Reconciliation Day

celebrations.

The terminal has a floating dock which can accommodate two

catamarans, each capable of carrying 136 people. The new facility can

handle over 200 passengers and will help to reduce commuter traffic

jams from Luanda’s southern suburbs.

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SONANGOL UNIVERSO 9

NEWS BRIEFING

3 Sonangol and Esso Exploration Angola (Block 15)

commenced Phase 2 of the Kizomba Satellites project

on May 4. The new oil production area consists of the

Kakocha, Bavuka and Mondo Sul fields in Block 15.

Initial oil output began at Mondo Sul at a rate of 10,000

barrels per day (bpd). This will rise to 70,000 bpd when

Kakocha and Bavuka come on stream. The three new

operational fields are located in deepwater at depths

between 750 and 1,100 metres and contain reserves

totalling around 190 billion barrels.

The project features a substantial amount of

locally-manufactured equipment. Nearly all the

deck modules and subsea assembly took place at

construction yards in Soyo, Dande, Luanda and Lobito.

Esso Exploration Angola (Block 15) Ltd is the

block’s operator with a 40 per cent stake. Its partners

are BP Exploration (Angola) Ltd (26.67 per cent),

Eni Angola Exploration BV (20 per cent) and Statoil

Angola Block 15 AS (13.33 per cent), while Sonangol

is the concessionaire.

latest IMF forecast of Angolan GDP growth

for this year

4.5%size of giant diamond

found at Lulo mine

63.05 carats

of oil drilling in Angola

100 years

extra new hotel rooms in 2015

2,000 investment by Angola’s sovereign wealth fund

at home and in the rest of Africa

$1.4billion

KIZOMBA PHASE 2 STARTS UP

FPSO Kizomba

FIGURED OUT ANGOLA IN NUMBERS

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CULTURE

10 SONANGOL UNIVERSO

ANGOLA THOUGHT FOR FOOD:

AT MILAN EXPO

SONANGOL UNIVERSO 11

The Angola Pavilion at the

international exhibition Expo

Milano 2015 was officially

opened by the general commissioner of

the country’s delegation, Albina Assis

Africano, a non-executive Sonangol EP

board member. Angola’s Secretary of State

for Co-operation, Ângela Bragança, cut the

ribbon, and Angola’s ambassadors to Italy,

Greece and Switzerland were also present.

Representatives of 145 countries

and 50 heads of state and government

attended the opening ceremony of the

expo on May 1, hosted by Italian Prime

Minister Matteo Renzi. The event is

expected to receive more than 29 million

visitors by the time it ends on October 31.

The theme of Expo Milano 2015 is

‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’. The

organisers have described the showcase

as a means to reflect upon and seek

solutions to the contradictions of the

world, in which some 870 million people

suffered from undernourishment in

2010-12, while around 2.8 million died

from obesity-related diseases in the

same period.

Angola’s participation in this

important debate is titled ‘Food and

Culture: Education for Innovation’.

The pavilion is stimulating a wider

examination of Angolan culture

through its varied culinary riches

as well as the rituals and traditions

associated with them. It has engaged

visitors and revealed different aspects

of the country’s culture with all its

indigenous and assimilated influences.

The exhibition showcases and explains

which foods provide Angola’s nutrition

and how people currently use them. It

also looks at their future use and the

development of a healthier and more

sustainable lifestyle.

“It’s an opportunity to educate our

The striking three-storey Angola

Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015

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younger generation to have a healthy

diet,” said Albina Assis Africano.

“What we want to do is re-educate

from the starting point of what we have,

show young people that we can make

good dishes and present them as well as

those from Europe,” she explained.

The striking Angola Pavilion covers

three levels and has a giant baobab tree

reaching from the ground floor to the

third. There are two restaurants on the

top floor; one offering national dishes to

the general public and a second smaller

area, which acts as a laboratory to create

a ‘New Angolan Cuisine’, a fusion of

various foods prepared in co-operation

with guest chefs and served to visitors.

The idea has been to show the full range

of Angolan gastronomy.

The country’s very own Cuca

beer, which was a great success at the

previous expo staged in South Korea, has

once again been popular with the public.

In addition, there is a bazaar selling

Angolan handicraft, music recordings and

merchandising items; part of the area

also offers some of the nation’s home-

grown teas, coffees and dried fruits.

At the pavilion, there is also a section

reserved for children, where they can

paint and play using educational items

under the care of Angolan TV presenter

Alice Berenguel.

This year Angola’s exhibition area

is larger than at any previous events,

covering 300 square metres. Assis

Africano – a veteran of international expos

with vast experience – said it had taken

two years of planning and hard work to

organise and complete the structure.

The educational aspect of the

country’s pavilion has involved creating

awareness of what is nourishing, while

the innovation dimension has entailed

encouraging best practice in preparing

indigenous foods. This includes

appreciating traditional wisdom and

custom regarding foods that modern

“It’s an opportunity to educate our younger generation to have a healthy diet” – Albina Assis Africano


CULTURE

Record crowds attending the Expo

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research has subsequently shown to be

healthy and sustainable. Innovation has

meant utilising new technologies and high-

end science for greater holistic development.

The Angolan contribution to Expo Milano

2015 has also placed particular emphasis

on the role of women in the transmitting of

knowledge and in food supply chains.

The display pointed out that women

play a very important part in the production

and preparation of food, and are influential

in the cultural processes of maternity,

family management, hygiene, health, safety,

home economy and education.

The pavilion’s theme ‘Food and Culture:

Education for Innovation’ conveys the

message that the nation is growing and

developing its own methods of food safety

and control. Visitors have an interactive

experience that highlights these efforts and

their relevance within the wider context

of Angola, giving them a broad idea of the

country and its geography, cultural heritage,

history and diversity.

In addition, attendees can enjoy shows,

entertainment and cultural performances by

Angolan groups, both within the pavilion and

on outdoor expo stages at the Milan site.


1. Angola’s first Expo was at the Seville World Exhibition, Spain 1992

2. Lisbon International Exhibition, Portugal 1998

3. Expo Aichi, Japan 2005

4. Expo Zaragoza, Spain 2008

5. Expo Shanghai, China 2010

6. Expo Yeosu, South Korea 2012

7. Expo Milan, Italy 2015

ANGOLA’S INTERNATIONAL EXPO HISTORY

CULTURE(Left) Angola’s ambassador to Italy, Florêncio de Almeida, alongside Albina Assis Africano

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SPECIAL AWARD FOR SPECIAL ZONE

INDUSTRY


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Angola’s Luanda–Bengo Special

Economic Zone (ZEE) received a

Gold award at the 17th edition

of the Century International Quality ERA

convention held in Geneva on March

21–22. It was given in recognition of the

quality, innovation and excellence in

personnel, resources, equipment and

services at the ZEE.

The awards ceremony, arranged by

the Madrid-based organisation Business

Initiative Directions, was attended by

companies from the world of business,

professionals in economics, the arts and

corporate communications, quality experts

as well as academics and diplomats.

Previous winners have included global retail

giant Walmart, steel colossus ArcelorMittal

and Angolan diamond company Endiama.

Carla Silvestre, quality director of the

Angolan ZEE, said that the award would

give the project’s clients greater confidence

since it came from an international body. It

showed that quality played a leading role,

she explained, and hence the achievement

would serve to boost development of the

zone and encourage it to strive for even

greater customer satisfaction.

The Luanda–Bengo ZEE is a purpose-

built industrial condominium, supplied with

power, telecommunications, storage, water

supply and waste disposal facilities, along

Luanda-Bengo ZEE at Viana

The achievement would serve to boost development of the zone and encourage it to strive for even greater customer satisfaction



with other central support services. Companies

established there have the added advantage of

having a logistical infrastructure and occupying

key locations.

“A step forward on the long road to

re-industrialise our country,” was how

President José Eduardo dos Santos described the

Luanda–Bengo ZEE at Viana during the official

inauguration of the first eight industries there in

2011. President dos Santos said then that the aim

of the industrial parks was to replace or reduce

imports, stimulate domestic production and

increase employment by creating a link between

products from the factories and plans for 200,000

homes in Angola.

There are now 26 industrial concerns in

operation in the zone. Eventually a grand total of

73 outfits will be installed there, providing more

than 14,000 jobs and generating several thousand

others indirectly.

Companies located in the ZEE are able

to stimulate production, competitiveness

and innovation, as well as create jobs. The

zone consists of seven industry reserves, six

agricultural reserves and eight mining reserves

located in the towns of Viana, Cacuaco, Dande

and Ambriz, close to the capital Luanda.

Sonangol’s industrial investments arm,

Sonangol Investimentos Industriais (SIIND) was

given the mission of fostering the Luanda-Bengo

ZEE by promoting, developing and co-ordinating

the management of industrial projects in the area

back in October 2010.

INDUSTRYCarla Silvestre, quality director of the Angolan ZEE

“It’s a step forward on the long road to re-industrialise our country”

– President José Eduardo dos Santos

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INDUSTRY

COMPANIES ESTABLISHED IN THE LUANDA-BENGO ZEE

INDUSTRY

Angtor:

taps

Angolacabos:

fibre optic cables for telecommunications

Betonar:

asphalt

Bombágua:

water pumps

BTMT:

low-and medium-current electrical material

Galvanang:

chemicals

Inducabos:

cables and wires

Inducarpin:

furniture making

Indugalv:

galvanisation

Indupackage:

packaging

Indupame:

metal buildings

Induplás:

plastic bags

Indutubos:

high-density plastic pipes

Induplastic:

plastic sanitary and kitchen accessories and paint containers

Indutive:

paints and varnishes

Infer:

metals

Mangotal:

metallic towers, telecommunications and

electricity pylons

Matelectrica:

low-voltage electrical material

Mecametal:

metal components

Ninhoflex:

mattresses

Pipeline:

PVC and polyethylene pipes and joints

Pivangola:

farm irrigation equipment

Telhafal:

metal roofing

Transplás:

plastic packaging

Univitro:

construction glass

Vedatela:

metal fencing


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CULTURE


Ovanyaneca woman

OF A NATIONFACES

A fascinating photographic exhibition sponsored by Sonangol explores the diversity of Angola’s native peoples. Universo admires the striking images

By Lula Ahrens


The Origins team on the road


Angola’s many native peoples

remain largely a mystery to

the wider public. In an attempt

to shed more light on their decisive

role in the development of Angolan

society, Sonangol has sponsored a

major photographic exhibition – Origins:

The Peoples of Angola – as well as an

accompanying book.

The Origins project is fundamentally

a tribute to traditional Angolan women.

It aims to explain the anthropological,

linguistic and geographical significance

of the symbols of their physical identity.

The project covers a great variety of

ethno-linguistic groups.

According to Sonangol, the

enterprise is intended “to preserve

Angolan culture and to contribute

to the development and mutual

understanding between Angola’s

various native tribes.” The Origins

exhibition opened at the Sonangol

headquarters gallery space in the spring

of 2015. Future exhibitions at other

venues are currently being planned.

The making of...The idea of a book about the Origins

project came from the Zwela Group, one

of Africa’s largest media companies.

Sonangol has generously backed the

publication of the 77-page volume, which

contains some 141 photographs, almost

exclusively of women from Angola’s

indigenous ethnic groups.

Francisco Prata, director of

photography at Muxima Filmes, shot all

the images. Prata is Angolan by birth, but

has lived in Brazil and Portugal, where he

worked as a photographer in the fashion

and PR industries.

He returned to

Angola for a short-

term project in

2006–08. After Zwela

commissioned

him for other

assignments,

he decided to

permanently return

to his mother

country in 2013.

“The Angolan woman has

considerable weight within Angolan

communities. She plays a central role

both within the family and at work,” he

told Universo.

Photographing the women, however,

was not straightforward.

“It was a process of approximation.

We contacted the local administrations

and sobas [the villages’ traditional

leaders] first before talking with the

women themselves.

“Next, we had to gain their trust

before they opened up about their lives

and families. When I finally took their

shots, the women were very proud of

the results.”

Also crucial to the project’s

success was investigative journalist

and translator Carla Prudente, who is

a specialist in cultural anthropology

and speaks various native Angolan

languages, mainly those of the south.

She is the daughter of an evangelical

pastor and grew up speaking Umbundu

in Angola’s southern region.

Prudente works as a reporter at

Rádio Nacional de Angola. A well-known

personality, she appears regularly in

talk shows such as Janela Aberta (Open

Window) and Dia a Dia (Day by Day) on

Angolan national TV. She was the only

female member of the Origins team office.

CULTURE

ETHNO-LINGUISTIC GROUPS IN THE ORIGINS PROJECT

Ambundu Besangana Ambundu KimbunduBakongoCokwe Ibinda Ovahelelo MuhakavonaOvahelelo Muhimba

Ovahelelo MukuvaleOvahelelo Mundimba Ovambó KwanyamaOvanyanecaOvimbundoVangangela

(Left) Ovimbundo women

“The Origins project was a challenge

that I embraced,” she said. “I already had

numerous contacts thanks to a calendar

in Angolan national languages that I had

produced, but I had never before carried

out a project of such magnitude. The

calendar focused mainly on southern

Angola, while for the Origins project we

had to cover the entire country.

“Angola’s interior is like a different

universe,” she said. “Communicating

with the people there is not easy, due

to our differences in the perception

of the world around us. This project

was a major learning curve for me,

especially in the north where I did not

have as much experience. Whenever I

did not speak a language, we hired an

interpreter. But in terms of knowledge of

the history and origins of the northern

people, I was well-versed.”

The content of the project evolved

over time. “The initial aim was to

photograph members of various Angolan

peoples and explain the symbolism of

their clothes and jewellery. We then

progressed towards a deeper perspective:

pre-colonial history, religion and

symbols of power, among other things.

Africa has a lot of symbolism. Everything

has a meaning.”

Her father’s experience in the

Angolan hinterland helped her a great

deal. “Knowledge of Bantu moral values

and philosophy facilitated the contact-

making process tremendously. It is all

about respecting the other’s culture,

which is crucial. Respect always has to

be the first step.”

Clearer understanding“It has been a great pleasure for me to

explain to readers what is behind the

pictures,” Prudente said, “especially in

cases where general perceptions do not

match reality. People for instance often

confuse the Mukuvale in Namibe with

the Mumwila in Huíla. They both herd

cattle, and women from both tribes show

their breasts. But there are important

differences between the two.”


CULTURE

Exhibition opening at Sonangol HQ

The illustrated book accompanying the Origins exhibition (Origens in Portuguese)

22 SONANGOL UNIVERSO22 SONANGOL UNIVERSO

CULTURE

The look of Cabinda

She concentrated on the jewellery

and clothing worn by Angola’s native

women. “Their jewels show whether

they have passed the initiation ritual,

whether they are married, single, a

mother, from which family they are from

and so on. The way they dress explains

everything they are, so that they receive

the treatment they deserve.”

An important general misconception

clarified in the book concerns the baring

of women’s breasts.

“Contrary to what is generally

thought, the exposure of their breasts

does not indicate that they are

available. This habit is not meant to

conquer members of the opposite sex.

It is a way of demanding respect.”

The meaning of the exposure of

girls’ hips is an even less understood

phenomenon. “Girls who walk

around with bare hips have not yet

passed the initiation ritual,” Prudente

explained. “This ritual symbolises

a girl’s physical transition into a

woman. If a girl has not yet passed

that ritual, then she cannot yet be

conquered by a man. If a man tries

to conquer her anyway, he will

be punished, in some cases even

expelled from the tribe.”

Team spiritPrata and Prudente were asked by

Zwela to cover the whole of Angola, a

1,246,700 sq km country, in less than 50

days. It was a virtually impossible task,

both admitted.

For Prudente, the logistics were

a major challenge. “To gather all the

information within 40 to 50 days

is impossible. First of all, in terms

of distance, when you travel in the

Angolan interior, people will keep

telling you that your destination is

‘close’ when in fact it is 200km away.

In addition, our deadline was

extremely tight. And thirdly, we faced a

huge lack of written scientific material

on Angola’s natives.

“We did not cover all the peoples

of the north, due to lack of time. We

would have needed six months, not

50 days, to fully execute this project.

Angola’s tribes are geographically very

difficult to access, especially in the

rainy season. The people of the south

have greater cultural wealth, so we

decided to concentrate more on them.”

The team often had to rely on

human messengers instead of phones.

“All contacts were established via

local administrations, never directly,”

Prudente said. “That is a safety

measure, a relic of the civil war. The

administrations had not been notified

in advance by the project organisers.

That, too, was our responsibility.

“At times, due to the tight deadline,

I was forced to write in a car bumping

up and down. We travelled for almost

50 days without any rest. It was crazy,

but we had a great team and we

supported each other in all respects.”

“It was hard work, with lots of

walking,” Prata recalled. “We drove

under the toughest circumstances.

Think nine hours of driving over

bumpy dirt roads every day. Thank God

there was great team spirit. Had we not

had that, we would never have been

able to make it.”

CULTURE

Ovahelelo Mukuvale mother and child


PROVINCES

SOUTHERN ANGOLA:

EXPECTATIONSGREAT

Serra da Leba escarpment


Thanks to new and rebuilt infrastructure, southern Angola is on the cusp of a period of accelerated development. Universo takes a tour of the four provinces

T he general perception of Angola’s

southern provinces – Namibe, Huilá,

Cunene and Cuando Cubango – is of huge,

underpopulated expanses of dry lands where

semi-nomadic peoples wander with little regard

for international frontiers. While this is partly true,

the region also contains highly fertile areas with

abundant waters and substantial mineral reserves.

These sources of potential economic wealth, along

with stunning tourist attractions, are now more

accessible thanks to massive state investment in

new road networks, airports and rebuilt railways.

Southern Angola’s key axis of development

is the totally revamped and re-equipped rail line

which links the port of Namibe to Menongue, 907km

due east in Cuando Cubango province. Since its

completion in August 2012, the railway has provided

some passenger services and carried cargoes of

ornamental granite and vital fuel for Sonangol

clients; however, the next major transformation of

the region will occur when long-dormant mining

operations in Huilá province are revived.

Namibe provinceNamibe’s main asset is its port, from where cargo is

currently mostly transported along impressive new

highways serving the whole of southern Angola.

The city of Namibe is the largest centre of

population (282,056) in the province as well as

its economic and administrative hub. The desert

surrounding the city means there are pristine

beaches nearby. This has inspired a long-term

plan to expand tourism, build a marina and attract

investment in seafront residential development

and make Namibe a ‘New Dubai’. Thus far all that

is visible of this ambitious goal is a newly laid-out

beach promenade, but the potential is clear.

The recently rebuilt Yuri Gagarin Airport

Lubango’s new railway station


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showed that Namibe was capable of handling large numbers

of visitors when it hosted an international roller hockey

championship in 2013. New hotels and a purpose-built sports

venue seating over 3,000 made the event a success.

Namibe city is also within striking distance of desert

attractions such as the Iona National Park, which has zebras,

ostriches, gazelles and cheetahs as well as the ancient huge

desert plant Welwitschia mirabilis.

The desert coast forms part of the great Namib Desert

which stretches 1,600km from Namibe across neighbouring

Namibia to South Africa. It offers sports fishing and diving in

isolated, unspoilt locations.

Located 97km south of Namibe, Tômbua is the province’s

second most important city. Its economy is based on the

rich fish and crustacean stocks of the South Atlantic ocean.

Angola’s Ministry of Fisheries in conjunction with private

companies has invested heavily in new boats, equipment

and fish and seafood processing. A tuna and sardine cannery

absorbed $122 million of spending in 2014. The fishing

industry’s revival also includes provision of a fish market, cold

storage and a fleet of refrigerated trucks for transportation

throughout Angola and beyond. To enhance training in the

sector, the government plans to inaugurate a fishing academy

in 2016.

Tômbua lands around 50,000 tonnes of fish and crustaceans

every year. The local fishing industry is largely artisan, made

up of many co-operatives and their families. Fishermen

traditionally cure and salt large amounts of the catch in the sun.

The province of Namibe also has great solar and wind

energy potential, and a 100MW wind power park (near

Tômbua) is being developed.

Heading directly east from Namibe, the desert road and

railway meet the dramatically steep Serra da Leba escarpment,

home to the emblematic ‘Zigzag’ highway which climbs it. Both

Namibe and neighbouring Huilá claim the provincial border

tourist attraction as their own.

Huilá provinceThe ascent of the Serra da Leba marks a clear climatic

transition from the Namib Desert below to the greener, fresher,

more fertile Huilá plateau. Huilá has long enjoyed a reputation

throughout Angola for its healthy climate and its abundant

produce, with strawberries being the best-known.

The provincial capital, Lubango, is home to Angola’s second

most important industrial concentration after Luanda and

is a key route hub north and south as well as east and west.

POPULATION DENSITYPROVINCE POPULATION AREA, SQ KM

Namibe 471,613 57,091

Huilá 2,354,398 5,002

Cuando Cubango 510,000 199,049

Cunene 965,288 87,342

(for comparison)England 53,000,000 130,395

CUANDO CUBANGO

NAMIBE

CUNENE

HUILÁ

ENGLAND

PROVINCES


The region’s rich wildlife is a growing tourist attraction

375

250

1250

POPULATION DENSITY PER SQ KM

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Ornamental stone is one of the province’s booming

industries, and 40 companies quarry and polish

black granite at Chibia, Gambos and Quipungo,

compared with just 12 in 2002. The stone is a much-

prized export, and Huilá sells 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.

Huilá’s water resources are also renowned in

Angola and there is a thriving bottled mineral water

company serving the whole country. The same water

supplies a modern Coca-Cola plant and the brewery

for the popular Nocal beer.

The Namibe–Menongue railway continues from

Lubango to agribusiness centre Matala, where it

intersects the River Cunene as it flows from north to

south. Huilá’s temperate climate and fertile soil have

made it a magnet for investment. The province also

has extensive cattle farming.

Matala’s centrepiece is the recently refurbished

40MW dam and reservoir, the focal point of a 350km-

long section of a river with potential to irrigate

350,000 hectares (3,500 sq km) of land.

New food-processing facilities include a 12,500

tonne/year tomato canning plant, and storage

facilities have been built to optimise the use of

PROVINCES


Lubango: famed for its strawberries

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farmland and stimulate output well above subsistence levels.

Huge grain silos mark the skyline at Matala and provide food

security, an insurance policy against the severe droughts that

still afflict parts of southern Angola.

Two dams on the Cunene north of Matala are also under

consideration: Jamba Ya Oma and Jamba Ya Mina, with a total

capacity of around 200MW.

Just south of Lubango is Ganjelas near Chibia, another

smaller agribusiness complex also based on a dam, irrigation

and power plant. Both Matala and Ganjelas enjoy excellent

road and rail links to Lubango and elsewhere.

Iron and goldFurther along the Namibe–Menongue railway are Jamba

and Kassinga, in Huilá’s mineral belt. This is the most

significant economic area and thus was the rationale behind

building the railway from the coast. Here, 300km due east of

Lubango, preparations are underway to restart iron ore and

manganese mining.

There are proven iron ore deposits of 400 million tonnes,

with reserves likely to be 10 times that amount. When previously

worked in the 1970s, mine output was worth the equivalent

of $500 million per annum. The project includes an on-site

processing plant and a long-term plan to build a steelworks.

Angola has also invested around $600 million in gold

exploration at two sites near Jamba, Mpopo and Chipindo.

Cuando Cubango provinceAngola’s second largest province has as its capital Menongue,

the terminus of the railway from Namibe. While the region has

substantial mineral resources attracting investor interest, such

as copper, diamonds, iron, mercury, gold, quartz and uranium,

it is the tourism potential of its vast wilderness, especially

in the Okavango area in its far southwest borderlands, that

captures the public imagination.

Cuando Cubango is investing $350 million in tourism

with an eye to developing its share of the Kavango–Zambezi

Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA). This is an

intergovernmental project to create a wildlife sanctuary across

huge swathes of land where Angola, Botswana, Namibia,

Zambia and Zimbabwe converge. The 440,000 sq km park, an

area the size of Sweden, could eventually emulate the high-

spending tourism success of the Pantanal swampland reserve

which borders three countries in South America.

Cubango

Cubango

Okavango

Cuando

Cunene

Cunene

Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conser vation Area (KAZA)

IonaNational Park

Namibe Desert(Reserve)

Bicuar National Park

MupaNational Park

Kassinga

Chipindo(Gold)

(Gold)

Jamba

Techamutete / Mpopo

(Iron ore, Manganese)

(Iron ore, Manganese)Namibe

Lubango

Ondjiva

MenongueCaconda

Quilengues

Tômbua

Cubango

Xagongo

Virei

Cuchi

Cuíto Cuanavale

Cataí

Matala Dam

Gove Dam

Calueque Dam

Epupa/Baynes Aqueduct

Chibia

Quipungo

(Granite)

Chibemba(Granite)

(Quarrying)

(Fishing)

N A M I B I A

ZA

MB

IA

A N G O L A

C U N E N E

N A M I B E

H U Í L A

C U A N D O - C U B A N G O

AN

GO

LA

Windhoek

Luanda

S e r r a d a L e b aMineral Water Bottling Plant

Baynes Dam(proposed)

Ruacana Falls

Coca-Cola plant,Nocal brewery

Missimbo

Longa

Ganjelas

0

0

400 km

200 miles

Luanda

A N G O L A

C U N E N E

NAMIBE H U Í L A

C U A N D O -C U B A N G O

ANGOLA

Road

River

Rail

PROVINCE

National capital

Provincial capital

Town, village

Mining,Quarrying

Forestry, Ecotourism

Hydropower, Irrigation

Fruit, cereals, vegetables

Agribusiness,cattle rearing

Wind power

50 Km

50 miles

N


Mar

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(BZO

)

Cubango

Cubango

Okavango

Cuando

Cunene

Cunene

Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conser vation Area (KAZA)

IonaNational Park

Namibe Desert(Reserve)

Bicuar National Park

MupaNational Park

Kassinga

Chipindo(Gold)

(Gold)

Jamba

Techamutete / Mpopo

(Iron ore, Manganese)

(Iron ore, Manganese)Namibe

Lubango

Ondjiva

MenongueCaconda

Quilengues

Tômbua

Cubango

Xagongo

Virei

Cuchi

Cuíto Cuanavale

Cataí

Matala Dam

Gove Dam

Calueque Dam

Epupa/Baynes Aqueduct

Chibia

Quipungo

(Granite)

Chibemba(Granite)

(Quarrying)

(Fishing)

N A M I B I A

ZA

MB

IA

A N G O L A

C U N E N E

N A M I B E

H U Í L A

C U A N D O - C U B A N G OA

NG

OL

A

Windhoek

Luanda

S e r r a d a L e b aMineral Water Bottling Plant

Baynes Dam(proposed)

Ruacana Falls

Coca-Cola plant,Nocal brewery

Missimbo

Longa

Ganjelas

0

0

400 km

200 miles

Luanda

A N G O L A

C U N E N E

NAMIBE H U Í L A

C U A N D O -C U B A N G O

ANGOLA

Road

River

Rail

PROVINCE

National capital

Provincial capital

Town, village

Mining,Quarrying

Forestry, Ecotourism

Hydropower, Irrigation

Fruit, cereals, vegetables

Agribusiness,cattle rearing

Wind power

50 Km

50 miles

N

KAZA is home to the world’s biggest elephant population – around 250,000

– and a wealth of other endangered plant and animal species. Angola is

responsible for 90,000 sq km of the reserve.

Public and private investors are investing $570 million in mining, according

to the deputy governor for economic affairs, Ernesto Kiteculo.

The provincial government is also investing $1.375 billion in long term

farming projects to increase local food supply. The Longa area will specialise

in rice and vegetables – its first harvest, thanks to Chinese co-operation, was

1,300 tonnes – and the Missombo region will grow vegetables.

Kiteculo said there was also much work to be done in rebuilding 4,000km

of roads and bridges, and this would need $3 billion.

Cunene and Cuando Cubango were the provinces most affected by the

long war with apartheid-era South Africa in terms of infrastructure damage,

and there remains a massive legacy in landmines whose removal is likely to

take until 2025.

In 2014, Menongue’s Comandante Kwenha airport was rebuilt providing a

welcome boost to both tourists and investors.

Cunene provinceCunene is the only one of Angola’s four southern provinces not to be connected

to the railway, but there are plans to extend a branch from Lubango through its

capital Ondjiva and on to join the network in neighbouring Namibia.


PROVINCES

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SUBSIDIARY

Cunene’s economy is largely

influenced by its position on Angola’s

southern border. Ondjiva lies just 40km

from Namibia and is at the convergence

of the country’s two major (and much-

improved) north–south highways. There

is vigorous trade on the border as large

numbers of truckers from Namibia and

South Africa stop en route to markets

in Angola.

Most economic activity in the

province is informal, and farming

is mainly subsistence, as is fishing

on the River Cunene. There is some

cattle-rearing carried out by several

semi-nomadic peoples, some of whom

live as hunter-gatherers.

Cunene has iron and copper deposits

but has as yet no plans to exploit them.

Water is scarce, but a huge

improvement was made to Ondjiva’s

domestic supply in 2014 when a 100km

aqueduct from the River Cunene was

connected to the capital. There are also

plans to develop irrigated agriculture

along the river at Manquete and Calueque.

Energy is also a pinch point. Cunene

uses diesel generators to supply 6MW

and it imports another 6MW from

Namibia. Angola and Namibia have long

had joint projects dating back to before

independence for developing power and

irrigation dams on the River Cunene that

forms part of their border. A feasibility

study was completed on the $1.37 billion

600MW Baynes Dam in November 2014.

In common with the rest of the

region, Cunene has many tourist

attractions that are now benefiting

from the country’s improved transport

network and people’s greater willingness

to travel. Among the highlights are the

dramatic 124-metre-high Ruacana Falls,

the Mupa National Park and the largest

baobab tree in Africa.

The road aheadSouthern Angola has come a long way

since peace was re-established 13 years

PROVINCES

The KAZA project is home to the world’s largest elephant population


Most economic activity in the province is informal and farming is mainly subsistence, as is fishing on the River Cunene

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SUBSIDIARY

ago; extensive road rebuilding has

meant that overland long-distance

travel has now resumed and the

opportunities for commerce and

tourism have boomed.

All this can be measured by

the massive increase in hotel

accommodation throughout the

country and also by the surprising

appearance of the distinctive,

exuberantly necklaced and bangled

Mumuíla women of the Nyaneka

peoples, now seen as far away as

Luanda from their native rural homes

in Huilá.

The significant economic

explosion will come with the restart

of large-scale mining in Huilá’s

mineral belt, but meanwhile there

will be a steady increase in cross-

border trade and co-operation, not

least in the development of the

KAZA wildlife project.

HEIGHT OF A

PERSON

PROVINCES

Angola’s emblematic baobob trees

A young Muckawana boy


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PARTNERSHIPBLOSSOMINGInternational oil and gas major BP is one of Sonangol’s most important partners.

Universo profiles the company’s operations in Angola


BP (formerly British Petroleum)

has invested $27 billion in

Angola since starting operations

there in the 1990s, according to local

vice-president, Paulo Pizarro. Over

the next 10–15 years, the firm aims to

add a further $15 billion towards its

exploration and development efforts in

the country.

“These are large investments

whose return, naturally, will be over

the long term, and that’s why our

strategy in Angola involves a larger

and more ample contribution to the

socioeconomic development of the

country,” Pizarro explained.

“We would like to be seen as

a company that contributes to

socioeconomic development, not only

through the production of oil and of the

payment of taxes, but also through the

jobs that we create,” he added.

Apart from the hundreds of

Angolans that BP directly employs, it

has also helped stimulate the creation

of over 15,000 jobs in goods and services

related to its operations.

One of the world’s largest oil and

gas outfits, BP has a workforce of over

84,000 people in some 80 countries.

The company undertakes exploration

and production activities in 18 of those

countries, including Angola, which

accounts for around 10 per cent of its

daily global net output of 2.1 million

barrels of oil and gas. In 2014, BP globally

registered an operating cash flow of

$32.8 billion and a profit of $12.1 billion.

BP is the largest net oil producer in

Angola, ahead of Total, Chevron and

ExxonMobil, the company told Universo.

BP Angola historyAlthough BP has had a presence in

Angola since the 1970s, it was only in

UPSTREAM

BP’s new Luanda HQ

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1995 that the company got involved in

the upstream, initially through Amoco,

with its exploration licence in Block 18.

BP’s Angolan oil production dates back

to 2007. Current oil projects stem from

the prospecting licences acquired for

deepwater and ultra-deepwater blocks

in the Congo Basin following the merger

with Amoco in the 1990s.

In 2011 the company invested in a

further five deep- and ultra-deepwater

blocks in the Kwanza and Benguela

basins. These cemented its position as a

leading player in Angola with prospecting

interests in nine blocks covering a

massive total area of 32,650 sq km.

BP now sees the Angola region as

one of the jewels in its exploration and

production portfolio.

Key operations BP has production-sharing agreements

with Sonangol in the Lower Congo Basin,

where it operates its most important

offshore blocks, 18 and 31.

The Greater Plutónio project in Block

18 was its first operated deepwater

development in Angola. This block

represents an area of 5,000 sq km at

depths varying from 1,200 to 1,600

metres and contains five fields, all

named after chemical elements: Gálio

(gallium), Cromo (chromium), Cobalto

(cobalt), Paládio (palladium) and

Plutónio (plutonium). Production began

in October 2007 and currently stands at

around 160,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Block 18 also supplies associated

gas to the Angola LNG (liquefied

natural gas) plant at Soyo.

The second major venture is in Block

31, which comprises the Plutão, Saturno,

Vênus and Marte fields, named after

planets and collectively known as PSVM.

This installation has captured

the world’s imagination because of its

scale. At around 2,000 metres below

sea level, the oil development project

is one of the deepest in Africa and one

of the largest interconnected subsea

structures in the world.

Located in the deepwater in the

northeastern part of Block 31, PSVM’s

production started up in December 2012.

It is currently around 170,000 bpd.

The multi-billion dollar PSVM project

has a floating production, storage and

offloading vessel (FPSO) at its heart and

connects to over 77,000 tonnes of subsea

equipment which stretches 28km from

north to south.

During construction in 2010, the

project employed 10,000 people in 16

countries and in 12 fabrication yards

in Angola. It led to the building of two

new plants in Luanda; one for wellhead

machining and the other for assembling

‘Christmas trees’ (wellhead units, each

consisting of a set of valves).

The enterprise also stimulated the

development of a marine supply base

and multi-jointing facility at Porto

Amboim, 260km south of the capital.

Other sites in Angola also played a role,

with BP contractors manufacturing

metal structures and equipment in

Luanda and Lobito.

While BP Angola’s own gross average

is over 301,000 bpd from Blocks 18

and 31, the company also holds non-

operating stakes in two prolific blocks,

15 and 17, run respectively by Esso

Exploration Angola and Total.

UPSTREAM

Total .................................................................................... 580,000

Chevron ............................................................................... 365,000

ExxonMobil .......................................................................... 329,000

BP ........................................................................................ 301,000

Source: Angolan Ministry of Finance*barrels of oil per day

ANGOLA’S INTERNATIONAL OIL MAJOR LOADINGS, 2014*

“We would like to be seen as

a company that contributes to

socioeconomic development”

– Paulo Pizarro,

BP Angola vice-president


UPSTREAM

Block 18 Greater Plutónio development

BP 50%, Sonangol Sinopec International (SSI) 50%

Water depth3 1,200-1,600 metres

Fields3 Cobalto, Plutónio, Paládio, Cromo and Gálio

Future fields3 Césio (caesium), Platina (platinum) and Chumbo (lead)

Crude stream3 Plutónio

Loading point3 FPSO Plutónio

Daily output3 170,000 bpd*

Block 31 PSVM development

BP 26.67%, Sonangol EP 25%, Sonangol P&P 20%, Statoil 13.33%, SSI Thirty-One Ltd 15%

Water depth3 greater than 2,000 metres

Fields3 Plutão, Saturno, Vênus, Marte

Crude stream3 Saturno

Loading point3 FPSO PSVM


Source: Angolan Ministry of Finance

*barrels of oil per day

BP OPERATED BLOCKS


BP

BP

BLOCKS IN EXPLORATION PHASE

In addition, it owns a 13.6 per cent share in the Soyo

Angola LNG facility, which is set to resume operations later

this year.

The firm operates two other blocks (19 and 24) in the

Kwanza and Benguela basins where oil production has

yet to commence. Production-sharing contracts for these

blocks were signed in December 2011.

Altogether there are five non-operating partnerships

in Blocks 15, 17, 20, 25 and 26. When BP took a 40 per cent

stake in Block 26, it gained access to five new offshore

blocks in the Kwanza and Benguela basins, totalling 24,240

sq km in area. The potential of these acquisitions lies in

their geology, which is thought to mirror that of Brazil’s

hydrocarbon-rich pre-salt region.

AngolanisationThere is close co-operation with the government in its

policy of Angolanisation, and to this end more than

79 per cent of the 1,000 staff that BP employs in Angola

are nationals.

The company is committed to developing local

employment through training staff, implementing rigorous

succession plans, coaching and knowledge transfer. This is enabling

Angolans to build their professional competency and take on the

roles of technicians, engineers and senior leadership positions

within the organisation.

Made in AngolaBP is committed to supporting the development and enhancing

the capability of Angolan companies. BP spent $565 million in

UPSTREAM

THE PSVM PRODUCTION SYSTEM


Block 19BP 50%, Sonangol P&P 40%, China Sonangol 10%Water depth: 500–1,800 metres

Block 24

BP 50%, Sonangol P&P 50%Water depth: 600–1,800 metres

BP

BP

2013 on promoting local content in helping develop joint-

venture partners and suppliers’ capacity to provide increased

numbers of products and services in Angola.

A consequence of this is a boost to the socioeconomic

development of the country.

The PSVM project has one of the highest levels of local

input, accounting for about 20 per cent. Several components

have been manufactured or assembled in Angolan fabrication

yards at Soyo, Dande, Luanda and Porto Amboim. These

include pipelines, Christmas trees, manifolds, jumpers,

buoyancy tanks, umbilicals and wellheads.

The company in the communityBP supports several educational projects in Angola and has

strategic partnerships with universities, schools and local NGOs.

Engagement with Angolan society at every level has

resulted in firm relationships with key stakeholders, such as

community and church leaders, government, academics and

others to reach mutually beneficial outcomes.

The oil company’s sustainable development and community

investment programme focuses on education, enterprise

development, enhancing institutional capacity and social inclusion.

BP NON-OPERATED ASSETS

UPSTREAMGreening the desert


Block 15Esso Exploration Angola (operator) 40%, BP 26.67%, Eni 20%, Statoil 13.33%

Water depth3 650–1,400 metres

Fields3 Kizomba A (Hungo, Chocalho, Marimba Norte), Kizomba B (Kissanje, Dikanza), Kizomba C (Mondo, Saxi Batuque), Kizomba Satellites 1 (Clochas, Mavacola), Kizomba Satellites 2 (Kakocha, Bavuca, Mondo Sul)


Block 17Total E&P (operator) 40%, Esso Exploration Angola 20%, BP 16.67%, Statoil 23.33%

Water depth3 600–1,500 metres

Fields3 Girassol, Jasmin, Rosa, Dália and Pazflor (Acácia, Hortênsia, Perpétua, Zínia)

CLOV (Cravo, Lírio, Orquídea, Violeta)

Daily output3 580,000 bpd* Source: Angolan Ministry of Finance *barrels of oil per day

A BP-funded postgraduate programme for a master’s of law

degree (LLM) in Oil and Gas, and also a master’s degree in Oil and

Gas Business Development, in partnership with the Faculty of

Law of Agostinho Neto University, launched in April 2007, has so

far produced over 100 graduates. Backing has also been provided

for the engineering and science faculties at the university.

The school support programme includes improving

children’s access and study conditions in schools across the

country, as demand for education far outweighs supply given

Angola’s youthful population. There are also initiatives to

stimulate young people’s interest in mathematics and sciences.

In enterprise development, BP assists rural cooperatives

that have evolved from the Greater Plutonio micro-

credit project. In partnership with local NGOs, the firm

supports conservation, farming, water and sanitation

initiatives for rural communities in Cunene province, Southern

BP ANGOLA TIMELINE

2013FPSO PSVM reaches plateau output First cargo delivered from Angola LNG

2012 First oil from FPSO PSVM in Block 31

2011BP and Sonangol sign new production-sharing agreement as operators of Blocks 19 and 24, with interests in Blocks 20, 25 and 26

2008BP makes 16th discovery in ultra- deepwater Block 31. Approval given for Block 31 development

2007First oil Greater Plutónio. Agreement to take part in Angola LNG project

2006 FPSO Greater Plutónio built

1999 BP assumes operator position in Block 31

1996 Amoco acquires Block 18 rights

1970s Initial Amoco involvement in Angola

UPSTREAM

FPSO PSVM with its distinctive turret


Dulce Henriques is a Benguela-

born chartered engineer now

working at BP’s offices in Luanda.

She attended the polytechnic in her

hometown before going on to study

for a degree in Lisbon.

Her choice of an engineering career was influenced by a

secondary school teacher who told her 25 years ago that computers

would be the future. She was considering doing biology but instead

opted for electronics, the subject nearest to computing in Benguela

at that time.

After winning a scholarship, to Portugal she graduated in

Electronics and Telecommunications from ISEL (Instituto Superior

de Engenharia de Lisboa). “It was the natural choice,” she explained.

Henriques later specialised in instruments and control on joining

BP. By the end of 2011, she had been promoted to projects and

modifications manager.

“This was a big leap in my career, as there were many technical

aspects to this job and also a lot of administration, as I had two

offshore teams reporting to me, plus procurement issues and the

management of a subcontract company. So I was at full stretch in

managing these extra aspects, at the same time as having a baby.

Responsibilities included a project portfolio ranging from $200,000 to

$15 million – and certainly wasn’t boring!

“Things are always changing and you need to adapt, which has

taught me to manage. There were only three people in the team when I

started; now there are 20. It was a very interesting role and I learnt a lot.

“I can’t complain with what I have achieved so far. Since March

2015, I have moved into my second management role. I’m now

the Discipline Engineering manager for BP. So I have dreams to

accomplish more,” she added.

This engineer is happy in her current role. “I like working in

a mixed environment with people from across the world and with

different experiences, and when we are struggling, we come together.

There is a variety of teams and people doing multiple things, so it’s

always good to learn and interact with each other.“

She also has no problems working in a predominantly male industry.

“I wouldn’t say it’s easy, but I’m not shy and consider myself a

tough cookie,” adding she would definitely recommend a career in the

oil industry to any young Angolan women.

Angola, a region often affected by extreme climate

change (droughts and floods). The programme

competed for the Sirius Award and won the Global

Partnership Award in recognition of its impact on the

communities and its value in establishing sound and

effective partnerships.

Funding has also helped other rural co-operatives,

mainly run by women, in Benguela province with a

focus on improved farming and irrigation techniques

and the development of local markets.

The Green Namibe project aims to fight the

desertification of that province through planting

trees and using modern irrigation. The project is

creating a micro-climate while providing agricultural

students and their professors with valuable practical

experience and research material.

UPSTREAM

DULCE HENRIQUES


UPSTREAM

DINAYAME MENDES


BP

UPSTREAM

Dinayame Mendes, a process engineer on the Greater Plutónio project, joined BP as a trainee technician in 2006. Born in Uíge in 1984, the daughter of a Baptist church pastor, she spent two and a half years in Hull in the UK on an apprenticeship, mostly at the Dimlington Gas Terminal, part of the North Sea gas system. While there, she received awards of Overseas Student of the Year 2007 from the Hull Association of Engineers and Student of the Year 2008 (Engineering Industries Association of Humberside). She was also named 2008 gold medallist by the Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers, an ancient English guild which once regulated the fats and oils trade, but now supports education and training in the energy sector.

Mendes was chosen to join BP’s production chemist team in 2008 and undertook a year-long training assignment with Nalco in Sugarland, Texas. She then joined the Greater Plutónio support team as production chemist, overseeing chemicals management services, and then as production technologist.

After completing a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science with the Open University in 2011, she joined the Challenge Programme in Process Engineering, taking on the role of assistant operations engineer on the FPSO PSVM working on a 28-day rotation basis.

“It was a unique experience to be part of hook-up, commissioning and start-up of production of the largest subsea development project in the world,” she said.

Next she became a part of the Area Engineering Support Team in October 2013, where her role was to

provide process engineering support to the Greater Plutónio project and “consistently and efficiently deliver safe, reliable and compliant operations.”

She is continuing her further education with an MSc in Process Systems Engineering at Cranfield University, UK and hopes to complete it in September 2016.

“I like the diversity of challenges I encounter in my job. It exposes me to learning from and interacting with a multidisciplinary team,” she told Universo.

In her leisure time, she enjoys travelling. She does, however, recognise the downside of being away from family and friends and missing out on important events.

Mendes is one of the growing number of Angolan women working in the oil industry. “There are not as many as I would like to see. Particularly in operations and engineering roles, there are not so many women.”

Her first experience of working in a male-dominated environment was at an onshore gas terminal in East Yorkshire, and there were a lot of barriers to overcome. One was the robust language of her male work colleagues. So when she went offshore, she more or less knew what it would be like.

“I was acquainted with the environment. As anywhere else where the job is traditionally seen as ‘male’, being a woman, I had to work harder than my male peers to prove that I could do things. Fortunately I also happened to find some good people who supported me, gave me the opportunity and valued my contribution to the success of the team.”

“I like the diversity of challenges I encounter in my job.

It exposes me to learning from and interacting with a

multidisciplinary team”

– Dinayame Mendes, Process Engineer, Greater Plutónio project


ANNIVERSARY


In 2015, Angola celebrates 100 years

since oil was first drilled in its

territory. The very first successful oil

well was sunk in the Dande river valley,

around 20km west of Caxito (Bengo

province) and 40km north of Luanda.

There was very good reason to choose

this prospecting area, because oil in the

form of asphalt, also known as bitumen,

was in evidence on the surface, where it

had for centuries been seeping through

the rock structures and then hardening.

The area is known to geologists today as

the Libongos oil seeps.

The drilling of Angola’s first well,

Dande-1, began on March 25, 1915, and

terminated in July the same year. It

proved to be dry, but the clay extracted

gave off the strong aroma of oil. This

was enough to give the explorers

heart. Another two wells were drilled

subsequently but were abandoned by

June 1916 owing to a collapse in their

pipe-work structure.

Oil strikeFinally the industry pioneers struck

lucky. They drilled the Dande-4 well

from August 14, 1916, through to

September 19, 1917, reaching a depth of

857 metres and producing 6 barrels per

day (bpd) of heavy oil. The old wellhead

is still visible to this day, as it has been

preserved by the oil slowly oozing out

and covering it. This has protected it

from tropical heat and rainfall.

Angola’s early drilling campaigns

lasted until June 1927. They totalled 13

wells altogether but were deemed not

worth developing.

Oil exploration only seriously

resumed in the 1950s, when Belgian firm

Petrofina made an onshore discovery

just south of Luanda. Angola’s oil output

was minimal until drilling began in

shallow offshore waters in the late 1960s.

Production offshore began in 1969, and

that marked Angola’s take-off as an oil-

producing nation.

By 1984, the country was tapping

100,000 bpd, and this amount doubled in

2001. A mere four years later, production

reached 1 million bpd as drilling moved

into deep waters.

Today, a hundred years since the

very first drilling operation took place,

Angola now produces nearly 1.8 million

bpd and drills more than 80 per cent of

this is drilled in deepwater.

A CENTURY OF 1915-2015

OIL DRILLING

Universo would like to thank Canadian geologist Tako Koning for researching this item and providing data

ANNIVERSARY


1955 First commercial oil find at Benfica by Belgium’s Petrofina

1956 Oil production starts in Angola

1968 Gulf oil makes first offshore oil discovery in Malongo field (Cabinda)

1969 Offshore oil production begins

1975 Texaco finds Essungo oil field. First discovery in Block 2

1996 Elf Petroleum detects Girassol field in deepwater Lower Congo Basin at water depth of 1,300 metres

2001 Girassol producing at rate of 200,000 bpd

2004 Angola oil output reaches 1 million bpd

2007 Sanha condensate project in Chevron Block 0 starts up

2008 Angola oil production averages 1.9 million bpd

2009 ExxonMobil and partners reach 1 billion barrels cumulative oil production from deepwater Block 15

2011 Total and partners achieve 1 billion barrels cumulative oil from deepwater Block 17

2011 Sonangol awards 11 pre-salt blocks in deepwater Kwanza Basin

2012 Maersk Oil makes first deepwater pre-salt oil discovery in Kwanza Basin. Cobalt also announces positive pre-salt result

2012 Chevron and partners hit 4 billion barrels cumulative oil mark in Block 0

2015 Angola celebrates the hundreth anniversary of oil drilling

1700s 30 barrels of bitumen shipped to Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro for caulking ships

1915 First well drilled. Portugal’s Companhia de Pesquisas Mineiras (PEMA) drills Dande-1 near Barra do Dande

1916 Very first oil flow. Dande-4 well tested and produces 6 bpd

bpd: barrels of oil per day

1915 2015

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INTERNATIONAL

Views of Havana


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Cuba is one of modern Angola’s longest-standing and most practical allies.

Universo looks at how this trans-Atlantic relationship has bloomed

ANGOLA’S ENDURING ALLY


The Caribbean island of Cuba

has a special rapport with

Angola, having played a decisive

supporting role in the latter’s struggle

for independence in 1975. The generosity

of spirit displayed by the Cuban people

displayed in the heroic process and in

the subsequent reconstruction of the

country captured the imagination of

many observers around the world.

Angola’s minister of state and head

of the president’s office, Edeltrudes

da Costa, emphasised the enormous

sacrifices that Cubans made fighting

alongside Angolans to help safeguard

independence and territorial integrity.

“They were years of great historical

transcendence that will never be

forgotten. It isn’t by chance that our

General Co-operation Agreement was

signed 40 years ago,” he recalled during

a visit by Cuba’s first vice president,

Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, to Angola

in March. Indeed, four decades later

the island nation continues to provide

solid support for Angola’s economic

development, specifically in the health

and education sectors.

According to Cuba’s ambassador to

Angola, Gisela Beatriz García Rivera, there

are over 4,000 Cubans working in the

country. Around 42 per cent of these are in

the health sector and 40 per cent in further

education, while a reciprocal agreement

enables 2,841 students who have grants to

study in the Caribbean country, mostly at

a high educational level.

“Our main focus is on training local

personnel so that Angola can become

self-reliant and, in time, come to end its

dependence on international co-operation

in education and health. That is what

Cuba’s aim is,” she explained.

“It’s always about education and

health, because these areas are probably

what the Cuban government is strongest

in, and human resources are our

greatest riches.”

As part of the co-operation in

healthcare, Angola is using Cuban

products to fight malaria by eliminating

its vectors.

“We are interested in building

factories in Angola for biocides and

biofertilisers, and in transferring

technology, because we have experience

in this field. We have put forward

a proposal. Now we need to look at

finance, and see how we can do it,” the

ambassador said.


INTERNATIONAL

Havana: the island’s capital city

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Another potential way for the two nations to work

together is in the joint production of medicines, an area in

which Cuba has considerable experience. Indeed, it already

exports many drugs to Angola.

Power to the peopleApart from areas related to health and education, trade

between Angola and Cuba is not very substantial.

“It’s true that our trade should increase and we can, for

example, start with oil. Sonangol is prospecting in Cuba to

find oil, and this could be a promising area,” said Ambassador

García Rivera.

“It’s in our interest to learn much with Sonangol, because it

has great experience in drilling offshore. It’s a company that’s

a friend, with a great deal of knowledge of how the oil sector

works, an area in which we want to enter,” she pointed out.

“We have some experience of drilling oil in Cuba, but not

to the level that Sonangol has.”

During his diplomatic and economic mission to Angola,

Vice President Díaz-Canel Bermúdez made a point of visiting

Sonangol’s Sonils oil industry logistics base in Luanda.

Together with Minister Edeltrudes da Costa, he reviewed

co-operation in health, education, construction, energy and

water, and transport among other matters.

They discussed the possibility that Cuba may take part

in rural electrification in Angola, building power lines and

substations to support development in the countryside.

Angola’s power generation is expected to be boosted shortly

with the completion of two huge dam projects. The upgraded

Cambambe dam should produce a total of 960MW, up from

“It’s always about education

and health, because these

areas are probably what

the Cuban government is

strongest in”

– Gisela Beatriz García Rivera,

Cuba’s ambassador to Angola

Infant mortality4.7 deaths per 1,000 live births (comparison: UK 4.4, USA 6.2, Mexico 12.6, Brazil 19.2)

Life expectancy 78.2 years (UK 80.4, USA 79.6, Mexico 75.4, Brazil 73.3)

Health expenditure8.6% of GDP (UK 9.4%, USA 17.9%, Mexico 6.1%, Brazil 9.3%)

Doctors6.72 per 1,000 population (UK 2.78, USA 2.45, Mexico 2.1, Brazil 1.89)

Education spending 12.8% of GDP* UK 6.2%**, USA 5.2%**, Mexico 5.1%**, Brazil 5.8%*)

Literacy99.8% (age 15 and over)

(Mexico 94.2%, Brazil 91.3%)

*2010 **2011 (Sources: World Bank, UNICEF)

CUBA: SOCIOECONOMIC INDICATORS


INTERNATIONAL

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MEDICINES WITHOUT BORDERS

CUBA DATAPopulation ....................... 11.3 millionCapital .............................Havana (population 2.1 million)Land area ......................... 109,820 square kilometres (comparison: Angola 1,246,700 sq km, Texas 692,241 sq km, England 130,395 sq km)

AgricultureSugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice

IndustryOil, nickel, cobalt, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, construction, steel, cement, farming machinery, sugar

Economic sectorsAgriculture ....................................................3.8%Industry .........................................................22.3%Services.........................................................73.9%

(CIA World Factbook 2013 est.)


INTERNATIONAL

In the many years since the Cuban revolution of 1959,

detractors of the island nation have labelled it as an 'exporter'

of revolution. This perception stemmed from its active backing

for the oppressed around the world, which Cubans see as

their revolutionary internationalist duty. Indeed, it was such

a mission that led to Che Guevara’s death in Bolivia in 1967,

having some years previously visited the Congo where he met

Angola’s first president, Agostinho Neto.

Nowadays, Cuba’s international profile derives from its

equally heroic medical aid all around the globe.

The country led the world in responding to the Ebola

emergency in West Africa last year and drew widespread

admiration, even from its critics.

According to British newspaper The Guardian, the Cubans

“answered that call before it was made. It was first on the

Ebola frontline and has sent the largest contingent of doctors

and nurses.” Cuban doctors were on the ground first and came

prepared for the long haul.

This selfless action over Ebola so shamed the rest of the

world “that British and US politicians have felt obliged to offer

congratulations. John Kerry [US Secretary of State] described

the contribution of the state the US has been trying to overthrow

for half a century as ‘impressive’,” the newspaper reported.

Cuban humanitarianism actions in Haiti and the Kasmir

earthquake also drew attention in 2005. In May 2015, Cuba’s

altruism was again on show with its practical aid to victims of

the huge Nepal earthquake.

There are now 50,000 Cuban doctors and nurses working in

60 developing countries, The Guardian noted. As well as saving

millions of lives, Cuban doctors have carried out 3 million free

eye operations in 33 countries. The paper quoted Che Guevara’s

daughter Aleida, who is like her father a doctor, and who

herself has served in Africa.

“We are Afro-Latin Americans and we’ll take our solidarity

to the children of that continent.”

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180MW, at the end of 2015, and the

massive new Laúca Dam will add

another 2,067MW starting in 2017.

Biotech CubaCuba’s dependence on sugar, tobacco

and other commodities is waning,

and, given the government’s long-time

commitment to developing its education

and health services, it should come as

no surprise that the leading edge of the

emerging ‘knowledge economy’ has a

strong medical connection.

Biotechnology (biotech) in Cuba

had its beginnings in 1973, according to

American doctor, Byron L. Barksdale,

owner of the Havana Bay Company. That

year, scientists and physicians, including

Dr. R. Lee Clark (who died in 1994) from

MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston,

Texas, made a trip to Havana and held

discussions about new frontiers in

biotech, especially its possible use in

viral infections such as dengue.

Taking the lead from Dr Clark, Cuban

scientists went to Finland to learn how to

make the drug interferon from white blood

cells. They subsequently visited Houston

and also traveled to Eastern European

countries and the former USSR to glean

as much information as they could about

new biotech procedures and techniques.

Today, Cuba has had considerable

success in the following areas: vaccines

(Type B meningococcal meningitis),

interferon, EGF (epidermal growth

factor) for burns, PPG (policosanol) for

treating hyperlipidemia, Melagenina for

vitiligo, Heberkinasa (streptokinase) for

thrombosis in cardiovascular disease,

and monoclonal antibodies.

In particular, HIV/AIDS viral

research is very intense, and scientists

hope to develop an effective HIV

vaccine in addition to producing anti-

HIV medications. Regarding bacterial

vaccines, the University of Havana’s

Synthetic Antigens Laboratory recently

announced that the Hemophilus

influenza type B synthetic vaccine was to

be produced locally.

Dr Barksdale explained that Cuba

holds the position that patents should

not be enforced and poor nations and

individuals should not have to pay for

‘expensive’ medications manufactured

by multinational “for profit”

pharmaceutical corporations.

Cancer vaccineAccording to technology magazine

Wired, Cuba is also on course to develop

a promising therapeutic vaccine

against lung cancer. In April, New York

Governor Andrew Cuomo visited the

island’s capitaland helped facilitate the

finalisation of an agreement between the

Roswell Park Cancer Institute and Cuba’s

Centre for Molecular Immunology to

develop the vaccine Cimavax and begin


INTERNATIONAL

Biotech Cuba

Cuba’s ambassador at the Faculty of Medicine, Lubango

Ambassador Gisela Beatriz García Rivera visits a Benguela medical centre

Doctors are Cuba’s greatest export

Cuban doctors at work in Angola

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ANGOLA - CUBA

1994 Mandela elected president of South Africa in April

clinical trials in the US. The hope is that American researchers

will allow Cimavax to undergo further testing and that it will

obtain the Food and Drug Administration’s approval.

“The chance to evaluate a vaccine like this is a very exciting

prospect,” Candace Johnson, CEO of Roswell Park, told Wired. Part

of her excitement is because so far research on the vaccine shows

that it has low toxicity and is relatively cheap to produce and store.

Researchers in Cuba worked on Cimavax for 25 years before

the Ministry of Health there made it available to the public in

2011, the magazine reported. A phase II trial from 2008 showed

that lung cancer patients who received the vaccine lived an

average of four to six months longer. Japan and some European

countries are also trialling the drug.

Wired attributed the priority given to biotech and medical

research in Cuba to an outbreak of dengue fever in 1981 which

affected 350,000 Cubans.

Forty years of friendshipReflecting on the upcoming 40th anniversary of Angolan

independence, Ambassador Garcia Rivera said, “We view these

40 years with much joy and satisfaction because we see that

Angola is developing. It’s an independent country which is getting

increasingly stronger. With great economic growth and every year

it is increasing its influence in the international, regional, and

world community.

“All this makes us happy. Happy to have been with Angola

during the most complicated times in its history, and happy to see

the country advance with all its difficulties and contradictions,

as all countries have, but a country that each day is stronger,

advancing with firm steps.”

In a move aimed at strenthening economic relations with

Cuba, Angola’s vice president, Manuel Domingos Vicente, visited

the Caribbean island in late May. While there, Vicente laid a

wreath at the mausoleum in Havana’s Colon Cemetery, paying

tribute to the 2,000 Cuban internationalists who fell during their

mission in Angola, laying a wreath at the mausoleum in Havana’s

Colon Cemetery. Over a quarter of a million Cubans have served in

Angola as soldiers, teachers, doctors, construction workers since

independence in 1975.

Vice president Vicente said he could not miss visiting the

monument and expressed his gratitude for Cuba’s support in

preserving Angola’s sovereignty.

Angolan-Cuban relations are set to reach a new high. On May

21, Angola’s ambassdor in Havana, José César Augusto Kiluanje,

announced that Sonangol was likely to start drilling for oil in

Cuba’s territorial waters in 2016.

1990Namibia gains independence from South African control. Nelson Mandela freed from prison on February 11

1988Agreement of withdrawal of apartheid troops from Namibia. Cuban troops leave Angola

1975Cuban forces help repel apartheid South Africa’s attack on Angola. With Cuban aid, Angola becomes secure base for liberation movements such as Namibia’s Swapo and South Africa’s ANC

1965Cuban international mission provides military assistance to MPLA in exile in Congo Brazzaville

INTERNATIONAL

Che Guevara, an inspiration to Cuban internationalists


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Angola’s relations with Cuba actually date back to before

independence in 1975, a process in which the Caribbean country

was eventually to take a key part. Cuban assistance to the MPLA

began in 1965 when the Angolan liberation movement had its

headquarters in neighbouring Congo Brazzaville.

One of those Cubans involved was General Rafael Moracén

Limonta. His military career largely reflects not only Angola’s

transformation into an independent country and now a vibrant

fast-growing economy, but also the development of the

revolution in his own homeland.

Born a semi-literate son of a farm worker and a maid in

Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba, in 1939, he worked as a

shoeshine at the age of 14 and then a cane-cutter. Inspired by

the 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks, he joined Cuba’s

guerrilla fighters in the Sierra Maestra in 1958.

In 1965 he found himself in Africa, having volunteered with

five others to be a military advisor in colonial Angola, where he

worked alongside the future president, Agostinho Neto, who

at one time treated him for malaria. Moracén fought against

Portuguese colonial troops when they attacked the MPLA

camp and he also took part in some ambushes. He left Africa

in July 1967.

In November 1975, he returned to Angola, initially as head of

a tank regiment, and was posted to Cabinda province, where he

saw action. He later performed a key role in Angola’s defence

against apartheid South Africa and in 1977 organised the

security of President Neto and that of President José Eduardo

dos Santos until 1982, before returning home.

There, for his services, President Fidel Castro awarded him

the ‘Hero of the Republic of Cuba’ medal in 1989.

In 2014, while he was serving as military attaché at the

Cuban Embassy in Angola, General Moracen was awarded

Angolan nationality and promoted to Lieutenant-General in

Angola, aged 75, by President dos Santos.

RAFAEL MORACÉN LIMONTA – CUBAN AND ANGOLAN HERO

INTERNATIONAL


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