Angola is set to become a key battleground for the world’s biggest commodity traders as Sonangol, the African country’s state-controlled oil company, seeks to inject much greater competition into fuel imports.
The move will be a blow to Trafigura, the Swiss-based commodity trader that has enjoyed a near-monopoly over the supply of fuel to Angola for more than a decade.
Angola, which has become one of Africa’s largest energy markets since the end of a long-running civil war in 2002, is attractive for oil traders because the country lacks local refining capacity and has to import about 80 per cent of its fuel.
Isabel dos Santos, chair of Sonangol, told the Financial Times that the company was planning to overhaul the way it buys petrol, diesel and cooking gas.
She said Sonangol, which has been hit hard by the oil market downturn and is scrambling to raise cash, would hold tenders for all its imports next year in an effort to reduce its fuel bill and boost profits.
“My vision is to make Sonangol very profitable,” said Ms dos Santos, the billionaire daughter of José Eduardo dos Santos, Angola’s president.
“For that, one thing that I have to do is make sure . . . that we acquire products at the most competitive prices. We want to increase competitiveness, increase the quality and decrease prices.” Trafigura declined to comment.
Ms dos Santos, often described as Africa’s richest woman, was named chair of Sonangol in June by presidential decree and charged by the company’s board of directors with restoring its “financial sanity”.
Sonangol has to find about $170m a month to finance its purchases of refined oil products but it has been struggling to make payments because of difficulties obtaining foreign currency.
Ms dos Santos said Sonangol had begun discussions with new suppliers of fuel. These are understood to include Vitol, the world’s largest independent oil trader, which has started to import some petrol and cooking gas into the country.
Analysts estimate that Angola’s fuel needs have increased fivefold in the past decade, reaching about 160,000 barrels a day this year.
Since her appointment as Sonangol chair, Ms dos Santos has moved to restructure the company, slashing operating costs and capital expenditure.
Ms dos Santos said Sonangol would not put any more cash into Puma Energy, a fast-growing fuel storage and petrol station business that it has invested in alongside Trafigura.
“When we look at the amount of profit and revenue generated by the company it didn’t justify capitalising it any further,” she added, explaining a decision to shun a recent $500m fundraising at Puma, which is based in Switzerland and has substantial operations in Africa.
“Our hope now is to see a future for Puma where it will become more attractive to investors,” said Ms dos Santos, who would like to see Puma take a stock market listing.
In 2013, Sonangol increased its stake in Puma from 20 per cent to 30 per cent, a deal that placed a $5bn valuation on the company.
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