Sonangol — Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola
Angola’s national oil company and the country’s largest enterprise. Sonangol holds the exclusive right to grant oil exploration and production concessions and participates in all oil blocks through production-sharing agreements (PSAs).
Key Facts
- Full Name: Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola EP
- Founded: 1976
- Headquarters: Rua Rainha Ginga, Luanda
- Type: State-owned enterprise (100% government)
- Role: National oil company, concessionaire
- Production: ~1.1 mbpd (Angola total)
- Employees: ~6,000 (direct)
- Revenue: ~$20 billion annually
Functions
Sonangol serves dual roles as: (1) the concessionaire — granting exploration and production rights to international oil companies and collecting signature bonuses, production royalties, and profit oil — and (2) an operating company — holding working interests of 20-50% in most blocks and operating some fields directly.
Privatization Potential
The Angolan government has discussed a partial listing of Sonangol, which would be one of the largest IPOs in African history. While no firm timeline has been set, the ProPriv program includes Sonangol subsidiaries and non-core assets. A partial BODIVA listing could fundamentally transform Angola’s capital markets.