This African Country Is Auctioning Its Oil Blocks As Oil Crisis Continue To Hit Hard

by Chukwu Obi

Angolan state-owned oil company, Sonangol, has placed 15 of its oil blocks up for auctioning as the southern Africa nation struggles with drop in global oil prices, learned VENTURES AFRICA.

“Angola’s national oil company Sonangol will this year auction off 15 new oil and gas concession in the Angolan basins of the Congo and Namibe, ”said Sonangol chairman Francisco de Lemos Jose Maria.

“The national oil concessionaire, expects this year to complete the auction process for ten blocks in the onshore basins of the Congo and Kwanza launched in 2014,” he added.

Angola, Africa’s second-biggest oil producer, is heavily dependent on revenues from its cash cow commodity, hence has felt the brunt of the global crude price collapse heavily. Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned Angola to brace for a tough year ahead following a less likely near-end of the crisis.

Angola’s cabinet of ministers recently sent a revised 2015 budget to parliament, cutting the assumed oil price to $40 a barrel, from $81 previously projected. Angola also slashed $14 billion off planned spending, the finance ministry said.

In 2008, a drop in oil prices during the global financial crisis left Angola with a nearly $7 billion in delayed payments to building companies.