Luanda - As part of its privatisation programme, Angolan state-owned oil company Sonangol is this year due to sell 20 percent of its stake in the Côte d'Ivoire oil refinery.
This divestment in "Societé Ivoirienne de Raffinage (SIR), S.A", is on the list of more than 50 assets and stakes of Sonangol in Angola and abroad, to be sold until 2022.
The sale of the 20 percent stake to the Ivorian counterpart will be made because it is no longer profitable for Sonangol, which leads to the sale of its stake, according to the chairperson of its board of directors, Sebastião Martins.
At the press conference held earlier this month in allusion to Sonangol's 45th anniversary, the manager said it was a partnership resulting from a process that the national oil company had started with multinational Trafigura.
"We have been seeing that the investment is no longer profitable, that is why it has entered our alienation plan," he said at the time.
As it is a country with which Angola has good relations, Gaspar Martins said, "we did not do so without first contacting the authorities to receive and take note of the intention.
As well as Côte d'Ivoire, Sonangol will also sell its stake in China Sonangol International Limited and China International Holding (CSIH), both based in Hong Kong, with a 30 percent stake each.
CSIH was established in 2004 and has been operating in Hong Kong, since 06 September 2012, and is 70 percent owned by Dayuan International Development Limited, with Sonangol having the minority stake of 30 percent.
For this year, 2021, according to the schedule for privatisation of assets and holdings, the oil company is also starting with the process of divesting Sao Tome and Prince State-owned oil and fuels Company Empresa Nacional de Combustíveis e Óleos S.A (ENCO), in Sao Tome.
