universo21

Up,up,andaway!Aviation in Angola takes off

Universo

INSIDE:oil and gas news

SPRING 2009On screenAngola’s new TV station

Express deliveryA history ofpostage stamps

Flower of LuandaSonangol’s high-tech hospital

SU21.cover for web:SU21 23/2/09 10:43

2 SONANGOL UNIVERSO

Universo is the international magazine of Sonangol

Board MembersManuel Vicente (President),

Anabela Fonseca, Mateus de Brito, Fernando Roberto, Francisco de Lemos

Sonangol Department for Communication & Image

DirectorJoão Rosa Santos

Corporate Communications Assistants

Nadiejda Santos, Lúcio Santos, Cristina Novaes, José Mota,

Beatriz Silva, Paula Almeida, Sandra Teixeira, Marta Sousa

Publisher Sheila O’Callaghan

EditorAlex Bellos

Art DirectorDavid Gould

Sub EditorRon Gribble

Advertising DesignBernd Wojtczack

Circulation ManagerMatthew Alexander

Group PresidentJohn Charles Gasser

Project ConsultantNathalie MacCarthy

Universo is produced by Impact Media Custom Publishing. The views expressed inthe publication are not necessarily those ofSonangol or the publishers. Reproduction inwhole or in part without prior permission isprohibited.

This magazine is distributed to a closed circulation. To receive a free copy: [email protected]

Circulation: 17,000

53 Chandos Place, London WC2N 4HSTel + 44 20 7812 6400Fax +44 20 7812 [email protected]

Cover: Getty Images/Mark Horn

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4 Letter from the editor

5 We need to uniteA message from the President of Angola, extracted from his annualNew Year speech to the diplomaticcorps

6 Angola news briefingThe Papal visit; African Cup of Nations stadiums; the President inChina; Angolan wins Big BrotherAfrica; Miss Angola 2009; a newshopping centre

7 Figured outA snapshot of Angola in numbers

COVER STORY

8 Sky’s the limitLouise Redvers introduces a 12-page special about Angola’sbooming aviation sector. Flights are increasing despite the world economic downturn

12 Red-carpet treatmentAir 26 is one of Angola’s new smallairlines, offering domestic routes and executive charters

14 Wings of a nationAn interview with new TAAG commission spokesman Rui Carreira

18 A welcome upgradeLuanda airport gets a makeover intime for the African Cup of Nations

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SPRING 2009 3

CONTENTS

Sonangol News

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20 Good evening Angola!A look behind the scenes at TVZimbo, the country’s first privateterrestrial channel that launched in December

26 Eastern promiseOil has been found in Uganda, animportant development for EastAfrica

30 Weathering the stormAn analysis of how Angola will cope with the world in financialmeltdown and a low oil price

34 Picture postPortuguese literature academic Igor Cusack takes a look at Angolan history as seen through its beautifulpostage stamps

38 Sonangol news briefingChallenges of the first months ofAngola’s Opec presidency; JúliaMassoxi da Costa Talaia (above)wins literature prize; Sonangolenters Brazilian race; Soyopipeline deal announced; Lobitorefinery contract awarded toKellogg Brown Root; BP needsmore reserves in Block 31; Essowants to expand

40 The best treatmentClínica Girassol, Sonangol’s recently opened hospital inLuanda, aims to be one of thebest in Africa

46 Pumping up the actionAn interview with Gaspar Martins, the chief executive ofSonangol Pesquisa & Produção,the oil exploration and produc-tion segment of the company.He explains the work currently under way and P&P’s plans forthe future

50 The Big PictureA map of Angola and its national parks

SU21.contents.pp2-3:SU21 23/2/09 10:45

4 SONANGOL UNIVERSO

OVERVIEW

Last year, Angola’s gross domesticproduct (GDP) grew by an estimated13.2 per cent, making it one of the

fastest-growing countries in the world.This year, the economic climate is verydifferent and Angola’s challenge is to minimise the inevitable effects of theglobal downturn.

The Economist Intelligence Unit ispredicting that 2009 will see negativegrowth of 2.3 per cent – the first time thecountry’s annual GDP will have shrunksince 1993 – before bouncing back to 6.2per cent in 2010. Whether or not Angoladoes indeed have a year of negativegrowth, it is clear that development andinvestment will not be able to continue atthe rapid rate of recent years.

It is ironic that the economic troublesare coinciding with Angola’s presidency ofthe Organization of the Petroleum Export-ing Countries (Opec). Angola joined thegroup in January 2007, and Angolan OilMinister José Maria Botelho de Vasconce-los became president in January this yearfor a 12-month period. Confronted withthe price of oil at around $40 a barrel –down from a high of $147 last summer –Opec has agreed to cut production, withAngola accepting the largest proportionalreduction of all members. The hope is toforce the price up to around $75 a barrel.

The drop in production, added to thelower price, will inevitably mean a fall inrevenues for the Angolan government.The budget will have to be revised, and infrastructure projects will be affected.Yet, as we report inside Universo, tighten-ing the belt by a notch or two may bringits own benefits in terms of improved efficiency and a more realistic approach to planning and expectations.

Even if the macroeconomic indica-tors are in the doldrums, individual industries are still thriving. In this issuewe focus on Angola’s aviation sector. Theyears since the end of the civil war haveseen a growth in domestic and interna-tional air travel. You can now fly from Luanda directly to North America, SouthAmerica, Europe and Asia. New routes arecontinually being added. Soon, Deltahopes to offer the first scheduled flight tothe United States.

TAAG, the Angolan national carrier, iscurrently under new management andworking to overturn the ban on its planesflying to Europe. We speak to one of thenew management team and ask him howTAAG hopes to achieve this goal. We alsohave a case study of one of Angola’s newdomestic airlines, Air 26, which offers executive charters on the fastest smallplane in the world, the Cessna Citation X.

Universo also goes behind the scenes at TV Zimbo, Angola’s first privately owned television channel, whichlaunched last December. We find a youngteam excited about reporting on the greatchanges under way in the country. TVZimbo is one aspect of a booming mediasector that includes new newspapers,magazines and radio stations.

We are also allowed a peek insideClínica Girassol, a state-of-the-art hospitalin Luanda that was built by Sonangol. It isthe first medical establishment in Angolato have a complete oncology service, aneonatal intensive care unit and a depart-ment offering IVF.

Culturally, Angola has a rich 12months ahead of it. In March, Pope Benedict XVI is visiting Angola on the first African trip of his papacy, and preparations are well on course for theAfrican Cup of Nations 2010, the largestinternational event to be held in the country. Four new stadiums are beingbuilt, hotels are nearing completion andthe airport is getting a makeover.

Angola’s economic wealth is largelydown to its hydrocarbons, but a lot moreis going on here than pumping oil.

[email protected]

Managing expectationsLetter from the editor

Alex Bellos

SU21.editor-letters.pp4-5:SU21 23/2/09 10:47

SPRING 2009 5

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Even though last year brought withit some unfortunate events, thereare many aspects that give us

optimism to confront the difficult situa-tions we will face in 2009.

All countries are now feeling the ef-fects of the international financial crisisand the recession in the world’s most de-veloped economies. The circumstancesfrom which the situation emerged andevolved merit deep reflection from all ofus. This does not just mean looking forcauses and ways to get over the prob-lems, but trying to learn lessons so thatthey do not happen in the future.

The global character of interna-tional economic relations means that di-rectly or indirectly, to a larger or a lesserdegree, whether at the centre of the crisisor not, no country can escape its effects.

One clear message is that crises arenot just the lot of poor countries. Lack ofgood governance and transparency, justlike corruption, are not exclusive to theless-developed world. There are defi-

ciencies and wrongdoings in all humansocieties.

Good governance depends on honesty and political will. Based on thisstatement, we must admit that a newposture is necessary when it comes toco-operation, the building of partner-ships and the reconciling of interests – anew posture which leaves egotism to theside and makes international relationsmore democratic, just and equal.

We also think the time has arrived tofind the definitive solution for so manyconflicts that are still going on in manyparts of the world, especially in the Middle East and Africa. Some of theseconflicts are in the process of gettingworse, provoking dramatic humanitariancrises that require urgent interventions.It is not enough to make provisionalceasefires. It is necessary to change theroot causes that deprive some people oftheir basic human rights.

The international communityshould, for this reason, unite its forces to

look for appropriate and enduring solu-tions to humanitarian problems, whilebeing realistic and favouring dialogue.

Among these issues I include terror-ism, degradation of the environment andthe big epidemic and pandemic diseasessuch as tuberculosis and malaria. It isthe responsibility of every state, individ-ually and together, to construct a peace-ful world, capable of guaranteeingstability and security for all.

One cannot fail to mention the election of the first Afro-American president in the United States. It has created a sense of expectation, makingus believe that there can be a sensitiveand positive change in the way the mostpowerful nation on earth conducts itsforeign relations.

We sincerely hope that this changebecomes a reality.

The text is an edited extract of the President’sannual New Year speech to the diplomaticcorps

It is necessaryto changethe root causesthat deprivesome people oftheir basichumanrights

“

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We need to unite

By President JoséEduardo dos Santos

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SU21.editor-letters.pp4-5:SU21 23/2/09 10:47

6 SONANGOL UNIVERSO

Pope Benedict XVI will be visiting Angola from March 20 to March 23 as part of hisfirst Papal tour to Africa. The Pontiff will spend 45 minutes with President José Eduardo dos Santos at the Presidential Palace and will then be introduced to agathering of politicians and diplomats.

As well as attending various meetings with church leaders from the region, Bene-dict will be holding a Holy Mass at São Paulo Church in Luanda and meeting youngpeople at the city’s Coqueiros football stadium. A second Holy Mass will be heldwith the Bishops of the Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa at the Esplanada da Cimangola in Cacuaco, to the north of Luanda.

Benedict will also meet with Catholic women’s groups in the Santo António areaof the city. A private Mass will be held on his final morning in Angola, before an official farewell event at Luanda’s international airport. Angola is the country insouthern Africa with the most Catholics, and the Pontiff’s visit comes 500 years after the first missionaries arrived. Pope John Paul II visited Angola in 1992. Benedict’s African tour will begin in Cameroon before he comes to Angola.

Angola news briefing

Pope flies in

Shop shapeA new shopping centre with bars,

restaurants and cinemas is proposed for

central Luanda between the Fortaleza de São

Miguel and the planned Museum of Science

and Technology. Spread over two floors, the

mall will be accessed from Avenida 4 de

Fevereiro and will have more than 450 parking

spaces, a tourist information point and views

across the bay of Luanda.

China cheerAngola further strengthened its relation-ship with China when President José Eduardo dos Santos made an officialvisit to Beijing. Dos Santos was accom-panied by a team of ministers includingForeign Minister Assunção dos Anjos, Finance Minister Severim de Morais andTransport Minister Augusto Tomás. TheAngolan president met his counterpartHu Jintao (pictured below) and a numberof other senior Chinese government officials and businessmen. At the end ofthe three-day visit, President dos Santosannounced that he had secured a number of financial credits between thecountries to help pay for national recon-struction, particularly in the water and infrastructure sectors. The value of loansfrom China to Angola is believed to exceed $5 billion. Tens of thousands ofChinese are working in Angola, helpingto rebuild the country’s roads, bridges,schools and hospitals after nearly threedecades of conflict.

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SU21.Angola News.pp6-7:SU21 23/2/09 10:49

SPRING 2009 7

value of Chinese bank Exim Bank’scredit line for 18 separate projectsaround Angola in 2009

size of Angolan government budget,of which a third is social spending

tonnage of goods expected to passthrough the Port of Luanda in 2009,says chief executive Sílvio Vinhas

$42bn

6m

anti-personnel landmines removed and sent for destructionduring 2008

4,083

new hotels being built for theAfrican Cup of Nations next year

30Mr Africa

An Angolan has won Big

Brother Africa for the

first time. Ricardo “Ricco”

Venâncio, aged 22, won the

third edition of the continent’s

best-known reality TV show.

Ricco, who lives in

Maianga, Luanda, was the

favourite to win the 91-day

show from the start, and

emerged from the house with

$100,000 in prize money. He

lived in Portugal for 15 years,

then started studying tourism

in Manchester, England,

before moving to South Africa.

Before entering Big Brother

Africa, he was working at

Foment Bank of Angola (BFA).

Completion of the four new football stadiums being built for the African Cup of Nations 2010 is on course for September. The stadiums are in Luanda (picturedbelow), Benguela, Cabinda and Lubango and are costing $600 million. The conti-nent’s most important football competition, known by its French initials CAN, takesplace every two years. It starts next January and will be the biggest event ever held in Angola. As well as the stadiums, a string of new hotels are being built to accom-modate teams, spectators and the press. The African Football Confederation hasconfirmed that work is progressing according to the timetable. The final of the tourna-ment will be staged in Luanda, where the stadium will hold 50,000 people.

Figuredout

Angola’snew Opec quota for oil output, in barrels per day

Lou

ise

Red

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Figuredout

Yes we CAN!

$1.1bnNelsa Alves, aged 21,has been named MissAngola 2009. Alves (pic-tured left), from Luanda, is an environmental engineering student. Shesaid she hoped to spendsome of the $3,000 prizemoney on her studies.The Miss Angola pageantis supported by the FirstLady, Ana Paula dosSantos, and winnersmaintain a high profilethroughout the year byraising awareness of social issues.

Role model

1.6m

SU21.Angola News.pp6-7:SU21 23/2/09 10:49

8 SONANGOL UNIVERSO

AVIATION

Sky’s the limit8 SONANGOL UNIVERSO

Check Six

SU21.airlines.pp08-13:SU21 23/2/09 10:51

SPRING 2009 9

With new destinations, new planes, new airlines and maybe a new airport, Angola’saviation industry is booming. Louise Redvers reports

While European and Americanairlines have been slashingroutes and seeing passenger

numbers plummet, Africa, and particularlyAngola, is enjoying a boom in air travel.

Planes arriving in Luanda are usuallyfull, and one-way tickets in economy cansell for up to $5,000 on some routes because of the demand. It’s no surprise thatairlines are queuing up to fly to Angola.

Already you can fly from Luanda tocities including Houston, Havana, Beijing,Rio de Janeiro, Brussels, Moscow, Paris,London and Addis Ababa. Delta is hoping

to become the first US carrier to fly to theAngolan capital, and Kenya Airways intends to start a route from Nairobi assoon as possible.

Meanwhile, national carrier TAAG isexpanding and hoping to overturn the banpreventing it from flying to the EuropeanUnion. This all means that passenger num-bers are set to increase this year. Aviation inAngola is “the pot of gold at the end of therainbow – elusive yet promises riches,” according to South African publicationBusiness Day.

At home, Angola’s domestic airspace is

thriving, with several airlines expandingand competing for local routes. Luanda’s4th February Airport is soon to undergo a$74 million refit to help cope with the grow-ing passenger numbers, and there are alsolonger-term plans to build a new airport40km outside the capital.

Last year, Lufthansa started a weeklyservice from Frankfurt. SpokeswomanKarin Webr says that the airline hopes to increase frequency this year: “In terms ofrevenue, this is one of our best-performingflights, and there is certainly a potential toincrease the frequency of the flight to �

SU21.airlines.pp08-13:SU21 23/2/09 10:51

Jet set: SonAir, owned bySonangol, runs a charter to Houston and several domestic schedule flights

10 SONANGOL UNIVERSO

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SU21.airlines.pp08-13:SU21 23/2/09 10:51

more than once a week. It’s a very profitableflight and seat sales are around 90 per cent,which is very high in industry standards, especially for a relatively new route.

“As well as the oil traffic, we are seeinga demand from the Asian market usingFrankfurt to transfer into Luanda fromChina and other parts of the region.Lufthansa certainly sees Africa as a majorpotential growth area, and Luanda is amajor part of that.”

PrioritySouth African Airways (SAA), which operates five flights a week between Luanda and Johannesburg, also sees Angola as a priority route. Robyn Chalmers,head of SAA group corporate affairs, saysthe airline would like to introduce moreservices but is constrained by bilateralagreements on routes.

“We are hopeful that the South AfricanDepartment of Transport and the AngolanCivil Aviation Authority will amend the Bilateral Air Services Agreement betweenSouth Africa and Angola to all additionalflights to be operated between the twocountries.”

According to the International AirTransportation Association (IATA), passenger numbers in November last yeardropped by 1.6 per cent in Africa, compared with 9.7 per cent in Asia-Pacific,4.8 per cent in North America and 3.4 percent in Europe – showing that Africa wasless affected by the credit crunch. In termsof freight, IATA said Africa was the only region to post a growth (2.2 per cent), whileLatin America, North America and Europeall lost between 10 and 15 per cent.

Justice Luthuli, SAA Cargo (SAAC) operations executive, says: “Our strategy isto strengthen our footprint in Africa and establish strategic hubs within the strong markets. This way, SAAC will support trade within the continent andthus stimulate economic activity. Luanda isone of the markets that have been priori-tised. We have seen phenomenal growth ofeconomic activity, which has resulted in demand for more capacity in this sector.”

The Luanda-to-Johannesburg flight isextremely popular with expats who use theSouth African hub to get to Europe and

beyond. Last year, South African low-costoperator 1Time also expressed an interestin a share of the Luanda-Johannesburgroute but said it was being excluded by current bilateral agreements, restricting theroute to SAA and the national carrier TAAG.

A spokesman for Delta confirmed thatan Atlanta-Cape Verde-Luanda flight was“pending approval” from the Angolan government. This would cater to the market of thousands of Americans whowork in Angola for oil companies such asExxonMobil, Chevron and BP, and also to alarge diplomatic and NGO presence in thecountry. Currently, the only direct route tothe United States is via a SonAir (part of Sonangol) charter service, but this is limited to oil workers and their familiesand, as with other services, flights fill upmonths in advance.

The ban on TAAG flying to Europe iscosting the company millions in lost revenue. Even so, the carrier has continuedto grow, extending its destination map to

include Dubai, Beijing and São Paulo. TheBeijing service has been launched as atwice-weekly charter, but there are plans toextend this to operate on a scheduled basis.Air China has also started a flight betweenLuanda and Beijing, running seven days aweek and aimed at the tens of thousands of Chinese construction workers who areemployed in Angola.

Angola has more than ten small airlines operating services around thecountry to the provincial capitals. These include SonAir, Heliang, Tropicana, AeroJet,Air Gemini, Diexim, Attair and Air 26. SonAir, which celebrates 30 years of servicein Angola this October, is the largest, with afleet of 25 planes and 25 helicopters. It operates flights to Benguela, Cabinda,Catumbela, Huambo, Lubango, Ondjivaand Soyo.

Regional airports including Soyo,Benguela and Mbanza Congo are undergo-ing refits to accommodate the increase indomestic demand. �

SPRING 2009 11

AVIATION

”Angola has more than ten small

airlines operating services around thecountry to the provincial capitals“

Son

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AVIATION

In January, Air 26 took delivery of aCessna Citation X, model 750, the fastestsmall plane in the world. Known in the

airline industry as the Rolls-Royce of smallplanes, the Citation X can cruise at a speedof 580mph and at an altitude of 51,000ft.

The airline hopes to use the plane forexecutive travel to China, America, Dubaiand eventually Europe.

As well as offering executive services,Air 26 also flies scheduled domestic flights. It is one of the ten or so Angolan airlineswhich have taken advantage of the post-warclimate to expand.

Air 26 operates three Brazilian Embraer120s (30-seater, twin engine turboprops) between Benguela, Cabinda, Catumbela,Huambo and Soyo. Belmiro Monteiro, chiefof ground operations, says: “We’re a newcompany, in operation for around twoyears, and we’re trying to give our passen-gers a new service. We respect our customers, make sure we leave on time and,of course, adhere to strict maintenance andsecurity standards.”

Passengers receive a complimentary

sandwich and a soft drink, although no alcohol is served on board. A red carpet isrolled out to welcome travellers from theirtransfer buses before they are guided ontothe planes, which are distinctively markedin orange and grey and bear the motto “Flyin good company.”

Monteiro, who has previously workedfor TAAG and Air Gemini in his 20-year airline career, says the Huambo flights are

the most popular, while the oil workersmake good use of the Soyo and Cabindaservices.

“Most of our flights are around 95 percent full. The roads in Angola just aren’tgood enough for people to travel these distances, so internal flights have alwaysbeen and will continue to be a good alternative. We see our flights as good value.It costs around $140 to fly to Huambo andyou’re there so quickly, compared with driving for hours. It’s a good time for business right now. We’re getting a new domestic airport terminal and there’s goingto be more space for us to expand.”

One expansion, however, that has been put on hold is Air 26’s plan to offer executive services to Lisbon, Paris and Dubai. This is because all Angolan airlines are currently banned from flying in Europe.

“We still want to do this, but obviously at the moment we are restricted,”says Monteiro.

Air 26 employs 12 captains, 12 pilotsand 20 stewardesses who work on a rota.

Future is orange: Air 26 plane and crew

Red-carpet treatment: start-up aims highPi

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SPRING 2009 13

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Rui Carreira: committedto fixing TAAG’s problems

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WINGSOF A NATION

SPRING 2009 15

AVIATION

In 2007, the European Union bannedAngolan national carrier TAAG from flying to Europe, and the ban was

extended last year to include all Angolanairlines. The EU said the restriction wasbased on “significant safety concerns”raised by the International Civil AviationOrganisation (ICAO) which “affect thesafety of operations of all Angolan carriers.”The EU said it was in close consultationwith Angolan civil aviation authorities for a“satisfactory completion of the action planof corrective measures and the recertifica-tion of all carriers.”

In response to the extension of the banto all national carriers, the Angolan govern-ment fired the board of TAAG and set up acommission to run the airline and resolvethe safety problems. Universo spoke tocommission spokesman Rui Carreira aboutthe airline’s current services and its plans.

Carreira has a law degree and an MBAin corporate finance. He started his aviationcareer as a fighter pilot in the Angolan AirForce, and until he started working forTAAG he was a SonAir pilot.

Can you list your full internationaland domestic destinations?We have 15 international destinations:Paris, Kinshasa, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo,Harare, Lusaka, Johannesburg, Lisbon, Beijing, Pointe Noire, Brazzaville, Bangui, Windhoek, São Tomé and Sal. Wehave 14 domestic destinations: Cabinda,

Soyo, Catumbela, Huambo, Lubango, Ondjiva, Dundo, Negage, Mbanza Congo,Luena, Saurimo, Malange, Namibe andMenongue.

How many people work for TAAG –pilots, air crew, ground crew, man-agement and admin?TAAG has a staff of 3,993, of which 141 arepilots and flight engineers, and 298 cabincrew.

What is in the fleet?Our fleet is composed of 13 aircraft: 3 Boeing 777-200s, 4 Boeing 737-7000s, 4 Boeing 737-200s and 2 Boeing 747-300s.

You launched a flight to Dubai lastyear – how is that going? We fly to Dubai twice a week and the commercial performance of this flight is increasing consistently. At the beginning,we had load factors of 60 to 65 per cent andnow they are about 69 to 75 per cent. Ourpassengers are mainly businessmen andbusinesswomen.

What was behind the decision tolaunch the charter to Beijing?This decision came from the Angolan government as a result of China-Angola co-operation agreements. There are nowa-days thousands of Chinese workers in Angola, and they need to fly from Beijing toLuanda and vice versa.

Do you hope this will become ascheduled service soon?We are confident that the market will reactpositively because business exchange between China and Angola is increasing inthe public and private sectors. These char-ter flights represent only a first approach.We are ready to initiate the negotiationswith Chinese aviation authorities for ascheduled service to China. We are waitingfor the green light from both governments.

Are there any other new destina-tions on your shopping list?We are currently making an evaluation ofour routing network. We will, of course,close some non-profitable destinations andopen others that are expected to be more indemand from a commercial point of view.Our aim is to search for destinations wheresales and load factors can cover all opera-tional costs and produce revenues.

How well do your domestic routesperform? Are these flights regularlysold out?We fly to the capitals of almost everyprovince in Angola. Some destinations areprofitable, but most are not. During thecivil war, the only means of safe travel wasby plane. Now, many people are starting totravel by road, and cargo flights have alsofallen dramatically. So, in many destina-tions the load factors are very poor. How-ever, we are a state-owned company, and �

Angolan carrier TAAG is under new management. But can it overturn the ban on Angolan planes flying to Europe? Company spokesman Rui Carreira hopes so

SU21.TAAG Man.pp14-19:SU21 23/2/09 10:53


AVIATION

the decision to open or close domestic destinations must come from the govern-ment. Therefore, we are thinking about utilising an adequate fleet to improve loadfactors and profitability, which means thatwe have to have smaller planes for domesticflights. We are seriously considering thisissue.

TAAG has had a difficult year in relation to the EU and its blacklist.The government has created thisnew commission to help TAAG winback its European permit – whatexactly is being done to achievethis?The first step is to work very hard to achievea National Civil Aviation Institute (INAVIC)air-operator certificate where our operating

manuals comply with new civil aviation authorities’ standards. The second step is tofamiliarise our personnel with them. Furthermore, we have been working to fixall the problems raised by European Unionand IATA inspections. Soon we expect to beready for a submission to a new EU assess-ment.

Does TAAG think the positiontaken by the EU is fair?IATA philosophy is to be against the publi-cation of blacklists. The best way is to co-operate with companies facing difficul-ties. We recognise that TAAG has got organ-isational problems. We are committed tofixing them. We are implementing an actionplan to correct every finding of nonconfor-mity with international civil aviation lawand best practices recommended by the

industry. If in the next inspection EU authorities recognise that we are in a goodway, the maintenance of the ban will nothelp us and it will not be fair.

What is the cost to TAAG’s business not being able to fly into Europe?TAAG is losing about $5 million a month because it was forced to lease airplanes tocover the same destinations, and we wereobliged to revise some code-share agree-ments. From a psychological point of view,the level of confidence of our customers decreased, as well as the sales volume.

In order to get round the currentban, TAAG uses TAP to fly to Lisbon and Air France for Paris.

Ocean Coast,Cape Verde

Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro

We have 15 internationaldestinations: Paris, Kinshasa, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Harare,Lusaka, Johannesburg, Lisbon, Beijing,Pointe Noire, Brazzaville, Bangui, Windhoek, São Tomé and Sal

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SPRING 2009 17

Did you previously fly anywhereelse in Europe?We were about to fly to London at the timeof publication of the blacklist.

Are you involved in any partner-ships with international airlines interms of maintenance or otherareas?In the past, we had some co-operationagreements with several European companies such as TAP and Air France.They helped us in the flight operations andmaintenance sectors. Now, we have signedcontracts with some maintenance, repairand overhaul services operators such asSAAT for Boeing 747-300s and VEM for newgeneration airplanes. We also intend to setcapacity and commercial agreements withexperienced aviation companies in Africaand Europe.

Are there more plans to wet lease aircrafts and crews – as you do with SAA for the weekly serviceto Lisbon? No, we are making plans to operate our fleetof Boeing 777-200s as an alternative to wet-lease aircraft.

Does TAAG see competition frominternational airlines such asLufthansa and Delta (the latterhopes to start flying between Luanda and Atlanta) as a threat tobusiness or as something positiveto increase choice in terms of flightavailability in Angola?Our main goal is to serve our customers. Webelieve that competition will improve thequality of our service and, of course, flightavailability.

What were the operational reasonsbehind your decision to stop theAddis Ababa and Point Noireflights?The flight to Addis Ababa was started as abridge to the Middle East and Asia. Now,with direct flights to Dubai and Beijing, theAddis Ababa flight does not make any commercial sense.

How can TAAG win back the confi-dence of passengers and attractnew business?We are making efforts to reorganise our administrative and operational structure,considering a new management and com-mercial attitude and promoting a newflight-safety culture. To achieve this goal, weset a very ambitious action plan which willresult in a better performance. �

Summer Palace, Beijing

Eiffel Tower,Paris

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Luanda’s battered international airport is to undergo a $74 millionrefit ahead of the country hosting

the African Cup of Nations in January 2010.Currently, passengers are often faced

with check-in queues that can last severalhours, and the boarding area is crampedand airless. Facilities are also limited whenarriving into the country. The poorly main-tained baggage hall has only one reclaimbelt, and immigration lines can take hoursto pass.

Work has already begun and is scheduled to be completed by the end of2009, ready for the thousands expected tocome to Angola to enjoy the CAN footballtournament next year.

Joaquim José Neves da Cunha, director-general of Luanda’s airport, says:“From December, the image of this airportis going to be completely different. It ismore than 40 years old and has many technical problems, and this is an oppor-tunity to completely remodel it.

“At the moment, there isn’t enoughspace for more than two or three flights tocheck in at once, but we’re going to increase the check-in areas and reduce thewaiting time for passengers. We will makearrival easier as well with more immigra-tion desks. We know at the moment thatour service is not good enough.”

In addition, he says that staff at theairport will be given training to improvethe level of service to passengers.

Somague, the Portuguese firm thatconstructed stadiums for Euro 2004, is carrying out the work.

A temporary terminal will be con-structed adjacent to the existing airport tohouse passengers while works are ongoing.Jorge de Melo, president of Enana, Angola’snational airports administrator, says thework will cause some disturbance to passengers, but he hopes that travellerswill support the airport while it improvesconditions for the long term. �

A welcome upgrade


AVIATION

SU21.TAAG Man.pp14-19:SU21 23/2/09 10:54

SPRING 2009 19

These illustrations of the $74 millionupgrade show how the car park willbe modernised to provide space for

650 vehicles. The money will also go to increasing the number of check-in desksfrom 12 to 28, enlarging the boarding areaand having three luggage carousels. Therunway will be modernised to reduce take-off and landing congestion.

In total, Enana is spending around$400 million refitting and rebuilding Angola’s 30 airports, including $130 million on a new one at Catumbela,Benguela, and $99 million on another atLubango in Huila. Later, there are plans torebuild Luanda’s airport 40km from thecity centre at Bom Jesus, but no detailshave been released. �

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This is the news:Zimbo anchorwomanClaudia Constance

SU21.TV Zimbo.pp20-25:SU21 23/2/09 10:55

SPRING 2009 21

MEDIA

It’s Friday afternoon and the newsroom is buzzing. Five flat-screen televisions beam out reports from around the worldin various languages, phones ring non-stop and young people

rush from desk to desk handing out sheets of A4 paper. Welcome to the newsroom of TV Zimbo, Angola’s first and only private television station.

Launched in December, TV Zimbo began broadcasting dailybetween 5.30pm and 1am and hopes to go to 24 hours by March.The channel’s schedule is a youthful mix that includes news bulletins, chat shows with studio audiences, music programmes, interactive consumer debates, the homegrown sitcom Maka Hotel(Troubled Hotel), Portuguese soap operas and movies.

Indira Patrício, co-head of programming, says: “We are tryingto give the Angolan people something different, especially in termsof our news. We want to be clear, transparent and honest and givepeople as much information as we can.”

Dressed in jeans, a T-shirt and trainers, 28-year-old Patrício –like most of the staff – is new to TV, having previously worked incorporate and public affairs at the De Beers diamond company.The shiny, modern building in Luanda Sul is full of constructionworkers and we struggle to find a quiet room to talk. The one wesettle in is full of unwrapped flat-pack furniture. “We’re a veryyoung team and we’re very open-minded,” she says. “We’re still inthe experimental stage but we’re all very excited to be involved insuch a challenging project.

“There’s so much happening in Angola right now. The wholecountry is being rebuilt, everything is changing, politics are changing, attitudes are changing – positively changing – and so arewe in the information sector.”

TV Zimbo is owned by Media Nova and is the first terrestrialalternative to state-run TPA 1 and 2. Named after a seashell thatwas used as currency in 16th-century Angola, the station is aimedat those who do not have access to the Brazilian and Portuguese �

GOOD EVENINGANGOLA!

Angola’s media is flourishing with newnewspapers and now has its first private television station. Louise Redversgoes behind the scenes at TV Zimbo

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Green room: Zimbo’s news studio

SU21.TV Zimbo.pp20-25:SU21 23/2/09 10:55

SPRING 2009 23

MEDIA

satellite channels such as Globo and SIC.On its website, TV Zimbo describes itself as a station of

independence, ethics, quality and creativity, which celebrates difference and has team spirit. Patrício says that the station reallyis independent and that it is free to approach the news agenda inany way it likes.

Youth appeal“That’s our point, that’s our main goal – to be able to transmit all wehave in terms of information. If we start hiding information, there’sno point having a new television station. We want to be open-minded about the information we send out.”

She adds that it was intentional that the main nightly newsbulletin at 8.30pm is timed to coincide with TPA’s evening news.“We want people to make the choice about what sort of news theywant to watch. We are not competing with TPA; it’s more of being analternative, complementing what they already give to Angola.”

Apart from a few inevitable teething problems, there havebeen no major technical disasters, according to Emanuel da Mata,one of the station’s three newsroom editors in chief. When I ask himabout the launch day, he laughs and puts his head in his hands.“Ok… it was like… wow, we did it! No, it was good, actually, it was

perfect and on time. We were working on the launch for threemonths and the work paid off.”

Mata, who previously worked at Rádio Eclésia, Rádio Nacionalde Angola and most recently in a bank, adds that his job is very different to what he had done before. “I’m really enjoying it and sofar it’s going well. We’re a young team. Lots of women work here;you can see that from looking around the office, but that’s part ofour aim, to appeal to young people, to be new.”

Mata explains that TV Zimbo’s news stance is very different tothe official line of TPA. “The idea is to make the news more people-centred and to look at more social issues. For instance, our launchstory was about breast-cancer testing and we’re currently workingon a story about a five-year-old girl who was abused by a gang. Weare getting people to talk about their experiences on camera; it’smore than just the official government line on an issue.”

The launch of Angola’s first private channel comes soon afterlast year’s general elections, when the European Union observermission noted a lack of diversity of opinion in the Angolan mediabecause of the control extended by the state-run media groupEdições Novembro, which produces Jornal de Angola, Jornal deEconomia e Finanças and the sports daily Jornal dos Desportos.

Media Nova says it wants to bring something new to Angola. �

We want people to make the choice about what sortof news they want to watch“ ”

Indira Patrício, co-head of programming

Fit for broadcast:Zimbo’s offices

SU21.TV Zimbo.pp20-25:SU21 23/2/09 10:55


MEDIA

One big difference is that while much of the training forEdições Novembro comes from Brazil, staff at TV Zimbo and its sister outlets, the weekly newspaper O País and Rádio Mais, arebeing trained by the Portuguese.

The main news studio is bright green and full of camera oper-ators and lighting technicians preparing for that evening’s newsbroadcast. Claudia Constance, aged 31, is one of TV Zimbo’s newsanchors. She presented the first news bulletin on the new channel.

ConfidenceDescribing the launch day, she says: “I was on first with Paulo Dudato do the news. It was pretty demanding. I really felt this big responsibility because everyone was watching in the studio; theproducers, the VIPs and, of course, the people watching at home.But I think it went well. I tried to be full of energy and confidenceand to do my best. We’d been preparing for that launch for monthsand it was really exciting to be a part of it.”

Glancing at her watch, she suddenly looks anxious. Aware thatshe is due on air soon, I ask if she’s late for make-up. She laughs:“Actually, I usually do my own make-up. They say we’re getting people in and I saw some boxes of products arrive the other day,

but for now I do it myself.” She adds that there was a power cut the previous day, minutes before the news show, and that theteleprompters do not always work.

Constance, who is also doing a distance-learning MA in com-munications with Leicester University in England, enjoys the morepeople-focused approach to news at TV Zimbo: “I love getting outthere and meeting people,” she says. “The idea is that as well as presenting, all the journalists can have a go at being out in the field.We want to cover all sides of the story, and help people by givingthem information.”

Less than 200 metres away, past a row of enormous back-upgenerators and a logo-branded TV Zimbo car, is a second building,still teeming with fitters. Patrício tells me this will be the studio forthe chat shows and audience programmes. Cavernous and paintedblack inside, the ceiling is thick with metal lighting rigs. “We’ll beable to have an audience of around 200 in here,” she says. “Thereare more offices upstairs, so it will be less cramped in the mainbuilding because half the people will be here.”

While we’re talking, her phone rings and she rushes off to another meeting, clutching her clipboard – back to the buzz of thenewsroom at TV Zimbo. �

Small screen, big dreams: Indira Patrício in the production suite

SU21.TV Zimbo.pp20-25:SU21 23/2/09 10:55

SPRING 2009 25

Extra! Extra!

TV Zimbo is just one relation in the Media Nova family. Also launched late 2008 were O País, a

weekly newspaper with a glossy magazine, and RádioMais. Like their television sister, the newspaper andradio station aim to bring something fresh to Angola’smedia landscape. As well as the usual sports reports, commentary and news, O País has pink financial pages,restaurant reviews, shopping guides and interviewswith pop stars and television personalities.

“With O País our objective was to create somethingabsolutely different,” explains director Luís Fernando.“The private media here was taking a certain directionand we felt that this was not showing the real Angola.We are trying to show that Angola has things that aregood as well.”

Rádio Mais has more independent competition onthe airwaves from the popular LAC (Luanda AntenaComercial) and church-run Rádio Eclésia. José VieiraMarques, director general of Rádio Mais, says his station shares the “difference” approach. “We’re tryingto be very different in how we talk and the way we deliver news. We do it in shorter bulletins and morepackaged – and we are using professional jingles. It’salso deliberate policy to play 50 per cent internationalmusic with English lyrics and 50 per cent music withPortuguese lyrics.

“We’re the first to offer traffic updates. Luanda hasa real problem with traffic. We have traffic bikes goingaround the city and we want to get a helicopter as well.”

Stop press!

One of Angola’s newest weekly newspapers celebrated its first anniversary in January. Novo Jor-

nal joined a crowded market but has been hailed for itsmore investigative style of journalism and its in-depthcultural and business sections.

Editorial chief António Freitas says that the paper,owned by New Media Angola, is aimed at Angola’s newmiddle class. “I think there is a new type of reader outthere who wants more information about differenttypes of things, especially about the economy.”

Albino Carlos, general director of CEFOJOR, Luanda’s journalism training school, believes the morenew media outlets there are in Angola, the better it isfor press freedom. “Having these new media outlets is avery good thing for Angola because it is increasing diversity and democracy. We are developing as a coun-try economically, socially and democratically, so the social communication sector must develop too. If itdoes not develop, the country does not develop.

Other Portuguese-backed media companies arealso believed to be planning to launch newspapers,radio and TV channels in Angola later this year.

Printing money: more newspapersis good news for vendors

SU21.TV Zimbo.pp20-25:SU21 23/2/09 10:55

EASTERNPROMISEIs a major oil discovery in Uganda a turning point for oil production in East Africa?Nick Wadhams reports


Natural reservoir: Lake Edward, Uganda, may beabove extractable hydrocarbons

SU21.Uganda.pp26-29:SU21 23/2/09 10:57

SPRING 2009 27

UGANDA

For about a year, the news had come ina slow, steady trickle. Two oil firms exploring the virgin territory of land-

locked Uganda had drilled one promisingwell, then another, and then another. Atlast, what looked like a jackpot, the Kingfisher-3A well around Lake Albert, saidto be the largest oil discovery in East Africa,was announced late last year.

Since then, the news has only got better for Tullow Oil and Heritage Oil, thetwo firms exploring in Uganda. With anumber of wells now drilled and oil confirmed, Heritage and Tullow, which splitthe Kingfisher well, say they now believethere is enough oil there – at least 400 million barrels and the likelihood of muchmore – to make extraction worthwhile.

“We’re hugely excited about the volume of oil we’ve discovered,” says BrianGlover, Uganda country manager for Tullow, which has the most licences inAfrica. “Both companies are very upbeatabout developing oil there.”

More oil is anticipated at other wells inUganda – possibly another 400 million barrels at the Buffalo block, co-owned bythe two companies, making a total of aboutone billion barrels. There is talk of buildingan oil pipeline to Mombasa, Kenya, at a costof $2 billion, to export up to 500,000 barrelsa day.

While production is still a long way off,the finds could alter the face of oilprospecting in Africa. Few people, particu-larly those who work for the oil majors, hadanticipated that there was enough oil inUganda to make extraction worthwhile.More importantly, the discoveries suggestthat there may be oil in the rest of EastAfrica, a region that has been almost entirely unexplored.

That may now be changing. There isinterest in oil exploration in Tanzania andoff the coast of its semi-autonomous island

Zanzibar. The only thing stopping seriousdrilling in Ethiopia is political unrest in itseastern Ogaden region.

Dominion Petroleum is working another block in Uganda, along Lake Edward. Explorers are also looking atMadagascar, Mozambique and other countries all down the coast. East Africa,particularly a geological region known asthe Albertine Rift, could be shaping up tobe the next West Africa.

“Along the entire East African margin,there are 500 wells from Eritrea to CapeTown,” says Chris Matchette-Downes, vice president of Black Marlin Energy, an East Africa oil explorer. “Compare thatwith the 30,000 to 40,000 wells that have been drilled in West Africa. It’s simplyuntouched.”

Big finds“The Albertine Rift clearly worked for Tullow and Heritage,” he says. “There willbe other finds, perhaps in Malawi or furthersouth in Rwanda. They have already foundhydrocarbons in the rifts up in Sudan andEthiopia.”

Uganda will be a proving ground. If oilcan be successfully extracted, major oilcompanies may take a closer look at theEast, a region that explorers say has beenchronically ignored despite signs that thereis oil to be found.

Tullow now says it predicts big finds inother blocks that will be explored in 2009,and expects production within three to fouryears. It believes that the reserve figure willgo up as it further explores the Kingfisherwell. Reserves are likely to grow even moreonce it tests for oil in Lake Albert itself.

“We’ve discovered this volume of reserves, but we’re very upbeat about therebeing significantly more underneath thelake and also onshore in the north in areaswe haven’t yet tested,” says Glover. �

We’re hugely excited about thevolume of oil we’ve discovered. Bothcompanies are very upbeat about developing oil there“

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Heritage Oil has been so encouragedby finds in its Warthog-1 and Buffalo-1wells that it started drilling another well, Giraffe-1, in late December. “Operationally,2008 was an excellent year for Heritage aswe have made extraordinary progress withour drilling programme in Uganda,” sayschief executive Tony Buckingham.

Production will not be immediate,however. Uganda has chronic power shortages, and Tullow says it wants to extract enough in 2009 to get a better understanding of the reservoirs it has. Nextyear, it would pump enough to assist withpower generation. Large-scale productionis not expected for another three to fouryears at the earliest, with 150,000 barrels a

year possibly six years away, says Tullow’sGlover.

“You can imagine that if we’re buildingfacilities, it will take a long time. You haveto bring absolutely everything into thecountry because there is nothing there,” hesays.

DauntingWill East Africa, led by Uganda, be the nextWest Africa? Perhaps. But just as oil in Nigeria and Angola has brought its share ofheadaches, the risks associated withdrilling in Uganda and the rest of EastAfrica are daunting.

For a start, Uganda’s oil is waxy, whichmeans that it hardens to the consistency of

shoe polish as it comes to the surface. Moving the oil will require that it be heated,a costly process. That is particularly troublesome as Uganda is a landlockedcountry. The obvious choice of transportwould be east, to the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

Tullow says it is considering severaloptions – building a pipeline, or taking oilout by rail or road. But the infrastructurewould need major upgrades.

At a time when oil prices are falling,these expenses are hard to stomach. Tullowand Heritage had initially said that 400 million barrels of reserves would be viableso long as oil remained at $80 a barrel. Butthey now say the costs of materials such as

Large-scale production isn’t expected for another threeto four years at the least, with 150,000 barrels a yearpossibly six years away“ ”

Brian Glover, Tullow Oil

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steel have also dropped, making a potentialpipeline cheaper to build.

“Heritage chief financial officer PaulAtherton is confident that should thethreshold volume of reserves be proved up(350 to 400 million barrels), then the development programme and pipeline willgo ahead to provide a distribution channeland export route via East Africa,” saysWerner Riding, oil and gas analyst at Ambrian. “The drop in oil prices fromrecord highs last year has not deterred thedesire to construct the pipeline.”

Questions remain, however. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, who came topower in 1986, has preached transparencyand has promised to make sure oil is aboon, and not a curse, to Uganda’s economy, but he is already making somestatements that have puzzled analysts.

For example, last year he told the localnewspaper New Vision that he would notallow the export of any crude oil – it must allbe refined in-country. He said the countrywould open a refinery by mid-2008 to produce heavy fuel oil, diesel and paraffin.“I have held a meeting with companies producing oil. They wanted to build apipeline, but I told them there would be noexport of crude oil from Uganda. We have torefine it here,” he told the newspaper.

If Museveni sticks to that vow, Ugandawill have to train up a cadre of engineersand oil experts, of which the country

currently has very few. The government isclearly overjoyed by the prospect of oilriches and is pressing the companies operating there to quicken their pace.

“We are looking at it as a medium tolong-term strategic solution to transform-ing our economy,” Energy Minister DaudiMigereko told New Vision. “The explorationand production programme of oil will notstop. Uganda must stop depending on imported petroleum products. It is expen-sive, unreliable and not controllable.”

Glover of Tullow says he has beenpleased with the Ugandan government’scommitment to transparency, but compli-cating matters further is the fact that LakeAlbert is at the heart of a dispute betweenUganda and the Democratic Republic ofCongo (DRC).

In August 2007, Carl Nefdt, a contrac-tor with Heritage, was shot and killed onLake Albert as he conducted a seismic survey. The killing caused new tensions between the DRC and Uganda, whichclaimed that Congolese soldiers were behind the attack.

“The state’s capacity will be tested inthe coming years, impacting operators invarious ways such as inconsistent policy enforcement, operational delays due to regulatory burdens and possible sanctity ofcontract as the state seeks more revenuefrom the sector,” says Monica Enfield, ananalyst with PFC Energy. �

SPRING 2009 29

UGANDA

Oil wells:1 Kingfisher

2 Warthog

3 Giraffe

4 Buffalo

Go East!Oil discoveries in Uganda

Oil on his horizon: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni

Facts & Figures

Uganda is a landlocked country in East

Africa, surrounded by Kenya, Sudan,

the DRC, Rwanda and Tanzania. It has

an area of 236 sq km, which makes it

slightly smaller than Oregon. The

population is 31 million, of which half is

aged 14 or under. English is the official

national language. Gross domestic

product is $1,100 per capita. Coffee is

the main source of export revenues,

with agriculture accounting for more

than 80 per cent of jobs.

Source: CIA World Factbook

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ECONOMY


WEATHERINGTHE STORMWhat will the global downturn mean for Angola? Louise Redvers investigates

Angola has been one of the world’sfastest-growing economies in thelast four years, thanks to rising oil

prices, a burgeoning financial sector and abooming construction industry guarantee-ing sky-high property prices.

This year, however, it faces two seriousproblems that mean it may not be able tocontinue at the same breakneck pace: theafter-effects of the global credit crunch andthe lower price of oil. The former meansthat oil consumption and infrastructure investment will slow down, and the latterthat the government may have to cut backits spending plans. The issue now iswhether Angola is recession-proof. Can thecountry weather the storm of the globaldownturn?

The Economist Intelligence Unit predicts that the Angolan economy willcontract by 2.3 per cent in 2009. If this happens, it will be the first time in 16 yearsthat GDP registers negative growth.

The root of the problem is also thecause of Angola’s boom: oil. In order to stabilise the falling price of oil, Opec (Organization of Petroleum ExportingCountries) is requiring its members to reduce production. Angola’s new quota ofjust over 1.5 billion barrels per day com-pares with last year’s average of 1.9 millionbpd, so, independently of the low price, oilrevenues will be significantly down. Diamond exports too are likely to be hit asglobal demand falls. And foreign invest-ment could also come under pressure askey investors such as China, Brazil and Portugal reassess their priorities.

Oil exports make up around 85 percent of national income. The world always

needs oil and when demand and prices arehigh, income is good. But with lower andunpredictable prices, this income is notguaranteed and budgets will need to be revised.

Ricardo Gazel, senior economist at theWorld Bank in Angola, believes the countryhas a tough 12 months ahead. “Unless theglobal economic situation recuperatesquickly, oil prices go up and Opec goes back to the previous production levels, Angola is going to face a difficult year interms of growth,” he says. He expects investment from oil companies to slow andjob losses to rise, and he believes the government will have to readjust its 11.8per cent growth forecast.

PositiveSalim Abdul, an economist at the CatholicUniversity of Angola in Luanda, says it usedto be thought that developing countrieswere by and large immune to a drop in economic activity in the United States andEurope: “But what we are seeing now is thatit’s affecting all the countries and all are dependent on each other.”

However, there are some voices sayingthat the international credit crunch couldhave a positive impact on Angola’s oil industry. Oil economist Oystein Noreng, aprofessor at the Norwegian School of Management in Oslo, told an audience in Luanda at the end of 2008 that a slowing ofdemand for oil will be an incentive to cutcosts: “This happened in the North Sea in1985 when oil fell from $28 a barrel to $11 abarrel and the industry had to learn how tocut costs. It’s always possible to be more efficient, and when you use the low-price

period to become more efficient, you willgain when the price of oil goes up again.”

Paul de Sousa, chairman and chief executive of KPMG Angola, also has confidence in Angola’s ability to survive theglobal downturn. “Of course there will besome negative impact,” he says, “but I amstill very, very positive about Angola. Sixmonths ago, I would have said Angola wasan economic miracle because it was doingso well on its own. Today, I would say it’s amiracle because it’s still doing so well, perhaps even better, compared to the restof the economies, including thoseeconomies Angola exports its oil to.”

One area of common agreement is thatthe country’s spending plans will have to berevised downwards. Indeed, Economy Minister Manuel Júnior and President JoséEduardo dos Santos have both made publicstatements admitting that changes to thecountry’s $42 billion budget could be on thecards.

Some tweaks have already been made.The government had originally estimatedbenchmark oil prices at $65 a barrel for itsbudget, but in November, as the price ofcrude continued to plummet and theglobal decline intensified, the Ministry ofFinance lowered its calculations to $55 abarrel.

For de Sousa, this belt tighteningmight bring its own benefits. “If you consider that the country’s infrastructure isstraining to handle the economic develop-ments that are going on, perhaps it mightnot be such a terrible thing after all ifgrowth slows,” he says. “Obviously peoplewant maximum growth in a country wherethere’s so much poverty and social need, �

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SPRING 2009 31

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Ups and downs: Oil rises, butoil prices have dropped andthe economy is suffering

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and where the country has been at war andhasn’t been growing and developing for thelast 30 years. But too much boom and toofast a boom can also have symptoms thatare undesirable.”

He believes a slower rate of growthcould “add an injection of reality into business and economic planning and intothe expectations of institutions and someagencies in government.” De Sousa addsthat it is important that cuts do not fall onthe social and health sectors, which accountfor over a third of the 2009 spending plans,because Angola still has a lot of work to doto reduce its child-mortality rate, which isone of the highest in the world.

StrengthenJonas Horner, of global-political-risk research and consulting firm EurasiaGroup, believes pressures on the oil indus-try will force Angola to diversify its economyand invest in other key potential areas suchas agriculture, and that the country will sur-vive the credit crunch relatively unscathed.

“Of course, depressed oil prices, thehigh cost of doing business and the spectreof Opec quotas will cut into short-term revenues,” he says, “but in the long term,steady growth could help Angola legitimately compete with South Africa assouthern Africa’s regional power.”

Another event that will help strengthenAngola’s economy is the long-talked-aboutstock exchange, tipped to come on-streamthis year. Having its own stock exchange willadd weight to Angola’s claim to be a leadingAfrican power.

The World Bank’s Ricardo Gazel agreesthat Angola, while facing challenges, is in agenerally enviable position. He says thereare good levels of foreign-reserves savingsfrom previous years’ budget surpluses. He shares Jonas Horner’s belief that thenon-oil sectors, like agriculture and construction, will continue to grow andboost diversification.

“The truth is the government has donelots of things correctly,” he says. “It has builtup a good level of foreign reserves, which ithas saved over the last three years withbudget surpluses, so there is certainly someroom for manoeuvre. This situation is notbecause of anything Angola did; it is theglobal economic situation.”

The next 12 months will be a big test forthe country on how to operate without thecushion of oil prices well in excess of $100 abarrel. “The important thing is how the Angolan government will react and adjustin terms of creating a more efficient publicsector and how it will prioritise its invest-ments,” says Gazel. �

SPRING 2009 33

ECONOMY

In the long term, steady growth could help Angolalegitimately compete with South Africa as southernAfrica’s regional power“ ”

Jonas Horner, Eurasia Group

Composition of GDP 2007

Angola Economic Growth 2002-7

5000

4500

4000

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

02002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

25

20

15

10

5

0

Real Growth RatesCurrent GDP (Billions of Kwanzas)

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0Agriculture and fishing

Petroleum Other Extractive

Manufacturing Construction Commerce Services

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STAMPS

PicturepostFrom kings to plants and galleons to butterflies, Angola’s stamps tell the story of thenation. Igor Cusack takes us through his collection


on the edge of Europe, it was its Empire and the Discoverers thatmade it a great country. Overall, the messages from the stamps ofthis period were one of monarchy and a great colonial empire. Notethat from 1894 to 1920, one part of Angola had its own stamps whenwhat is now Cabinda was called Portuguese Congo.

In 1910, Portugal became a republic and the governmentquickly sought a non-monarchical design for its stamps. It sooncame up with a highly praised set showing the allegorical figure ofCeres, the Roman goddess of tillage and corn. A version for Angolawas produced in 1914, which with various updates and designchanges was used until 1946, an amazingly long-lasting stamp series (Fig.4).

Allegorical figures of women appeared on stamps long beforeany actual historical women (except for monarchs) did and it wasnot until after the 1974 Carnation revolution that any Portuguesestamp showed an actual woman.

Apart from three Portuguese stamps showing the Marquis dePombal and inscribed Angola (Fig.5), the first specifically Angolancommemorative stamps were not issued until 1938. Designed byA.R. Garcia and printed in London, and used throughout the Empire, these include magnificent images of the Discoverers, including Vasco da Gama pointing the way ahead (Fig.6).

Compared with those of some other countries, Angolanstamps are not too expensive to collect. While, for example, an �

Postage stamps are not just small works of art, nor indeed arethey just little pieces of gummed paper used to confirm payment. They are tiny transmitters of ideology; able to send

what philately expert Jack Child has called “miniature messages”about politics, nation and culture.

Stamps are able to perform multiple functions in a very smallspace. They are the smallest icons of popular culture. By looking atthe stamps of Angola we can see the messages that its governmentshave wanted to show the rest of the world.

The first Angolan stamps were issued in July 1870, whenAngola was a colony of Portugal, which was still a monarchy. Theydisplay a crown (Fig.1). From then until the fall of the Portuguesemonarchy in 1910, most Angolan stamps showed the head of thereigning king starting with Luís, then Carlos and finally Manoel II– although the short-reigned Manoel’s Angolan stamps only seemto have appeared when over-printed with República (Fig.2).

These were the definitive stamps of this period; everydaystamps used mostly for postage. However, by the end of the 19thcentury the practice of producing stamps for collectors had alreadybegun, mainly in “commemorative issues,” often larger and morecolourful stamps.

Nowadays, for some small countries such as São Tomé andPríncipe, sales of stamps to collectors can form a significant partof the revenue of the state. There are numerous collectors who specialise in particular topics, such as birds, animals, trains or evenPrincess Diana.

There were no Angolan commemoratives during the monar-chy except for a general issue for the five Portuguese colonies inAfrica, a very well-designed set showing the 400th anniversary ofVasco da Gama’s discovery of the route to India (Fig.3).

The theme of the great navigators has been a regular feature inPortuguese colonial stamps because for Portugal, a small country

Fig.1 Fig.2 Fig.3

Fig.4 Fig.6Fig.5

SU21.stamps.pp34-37:SU21 23/2/09 11:08

SPRING 2009 35

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STAMPS

early mint 100 reis Portuguese stamp of Queen Maria II (1853)might cost more than $30,000, the most expensive Angolan stampseems to be a rather primitive yellow 100 Angolares Air Mail stampprinted in Luanda in 1947 showing the arms of Angola. A mint copyis listed in the Scott 2007 catalogue as being worth $750.

Only a few other stamp series were issued until the late 1940s,after which the Angolan colonial authorities suddenly realised theadvantages of appealing to the collectors’ market. A fine set issuedin 1951 shows Angolan birds (Fig.7), and then in 1953 a beautiful setof animal stamps (Fig.7a) was released. These stamps are wellknown to collectors.

The ageing father of a Portuguese colleague of mine had awonderful collection of colonial stamps, including some of this set. As he grew olderand a little forgetful, he started carrying themaround everywhere he went. Then one day,he returned home without them, having lefthis album on a tram. When I recently showedmy colleague the images, she rememberedher father’s anguish at the loss of his collec-tion – and became very moved herself.Stamps can have deep effects on people!

During the period up to Independencein 1975, numerous coloured stamps showingall sorts of themes appeared. In 1961, a setfeaturing 16 different portraits of Angolanwomen included some pictured topless,which was very different from the fullyclothed Madonnas or the women in nativecostumes series issued in Portugal during theSalazar dictatorship (Fig.8).

The 400th anniversary of Camões’s epicpoem The Lusiads was marked by a stamp il-lustrating a galleon at the mouth of the Congo, issued in 1972(Fig.9), showing yet again Portuguese preoccupation with the Discoverers.

After 1975, the new government soon set about proclaimingits own messages. The first issue shows an arm aloft carrying a rifleand inscribed República Popular and 1975, Ano da Independência(Fig.10). On the first anniversary of Independence a new set showsPresident Agostinho Neto (Fig.11) and his image has appeared atregular intervals since that time. For example, in 1980 and 1985 heis portrayed in celebration of National Heroes Day, whereas in 2003it is his poetry which is remembered with an extract from his poemAspiraçâo, while an accompanying imprint shows António Jacintoand his Poema do Alienação.

In many countries, images of living people, apart from monarchs, are not included on stamps. For instance, the United

States does not use individuals until ten years after their death, although presidents may be shown after one year. In Britain a greatfurore arose in 1999 when one of Freddie Mercury’s drummers,Roger Taylor, was shown in the background on a Millenniumstamp, when he was still alive.

Angola was willing to include the 1976 image of the then stillliving President Neto but interestingly no portraits of President dosSantos have been used. If postage stamps and their messages arereally “the calling cards of nations,” then Neto is the iconic figure forthe new Angolan nation.

As in many post-colonial states, some left-over stamps fromthe Portuguese rule were used in the early days, here with the

República Portuguesa obliterated (Fig.12).Since 1975, there have been regular issues onmore or less overtly political subjects, often ofa socialist inclination, such as the Struggleagainst Apartheid (1979), the Fifth Anniversaryof Independence (1980), Lenin at the SmolnyInstitute (1987), the first free elections (1992)(Fig.13) and finally an Aids Awareness stampshowing a stylised orgy (1994) (Fig.13a).

Various meetings were also noted, such asthe MPLA congress in 1980 and the FirstWomen’s Organisation Conference in 1983,while the 20th anniversary of the formation ofSonangol was marked in 1996 (Fig.14).

An increasing number of issues wereaimed at the specialist collector, less so than inmany smaller African countries, but still a goodamount. Some of these showed the usual birds,moths, butterflies and animals (Fig.15). An-other common feature of post-colonial stampdesign is the celebration of national arts and

crafts. One very fine example of this is a 2002 set of stamps show-ing various Angolan masks (Fig.16).

During the almost 140 years since the first Angolan stamp appeared, there have been some fine collectors’ items based on national and international themes. The message that the govern-ments have wanted to send has changed from monarchy, throughrepublicanism and Empire, to a focus on the heroes of the independent Angola.

There has, however, been some royalty on the stamps since independence: in 1988 a set showing Princess Diana (Fig.17) was issued because of her links with landmine clearing. The souvenirsheet showed her not in regalia but with protective clothing. �

Igor Cusack teaches the history and literature of Portuguese-speak-ing Africa at the University of Birmingham.

Another common feature of post-colonial stamp designis the celebration of national arts and crafts“ ”

Fig.17

SU21.stamps.pp34-37:SU21 23/2/09 11:09

SPRING 2009 37

Fig.7

Fig.7a

Fig.8 Fig.9

Fig.10

Fig.11

Fig.13

Fig.12 Fig.14

Fig.13a

Fig.15

Fig.16

SU21.stamps.pp34-37:SU21 23/2/09 11:11

Sonangol news briefing

The first few months of

Angola’s presidency of

the Organization of the

Petroleum Exporting Countries

(Opec) have been a dramatic

time. The world is feeling the

effects of a global economic

slowdown and the price of a

barrel of oil has slumped.

Opec, under Angolan leader-

ship since the beginning of the

year, imposed cuts on oil

production in January, in order to

keep the oil price at a desirable

level. Angolan Oil Minister José

Botelho de Vasconcelos has said

that he believes a fair price is $75

dollars a barrel, which makes ex-

ploration and investment viable.

Last year, Angola’s output

exceeded 2 million barrels per

day. This year, it has had to make

cuts of 224,000 bpd and now

has production levels of around

1.6 million bpd.

Meanwhile, exploration contin-

ues apace. In the following pages

we speak to Gaspar Martins,

chief executive of Sonangol P&P,

about its major projects. We also

have a look at Clínica Girassol,

Sonangol’s new hospital in the

centre of Luanda.

➔

Júlia Massoxi da Costa Talaia wasnamed the winner of the 2008 litera-ture prize Sonangol Revelação, or Sonangol Newcomer. The 31-year-oldfrom Luanda was awarded $10,000 andwill have 1,000 copies of her work Neo-Realism in the Poetry of AgostinhoNeto published. Neto was Angola’s firstpresident and a respected poet, doctorand nationalist. Sonangol Revelação isthe country’s leading literary prize forpreviously unpublished authors. Thejudges said Talaia’s work “created anoriginal perspective in the study of Angolan literature.”

Talaia, who completed the book aspart of her Portuguese language courseat Agostinho Neto University, said shewas extremely proud to have won theprize and even prouder that her workwould be available for years to come to

help people get more from Neto’s poetry. “I wanted to look more at theaesthetics of Neto’s poetry. Most studies have tended to focus on thecontent, the nationalism and the politics, but I wanted to focus on thelanguage and the style,” she said.

Talaia, who lives in Alvalade andworks in administration at Luanda’sCatholic University, used her prizemoney to fund her master’s degree inInternational Relations and EuropeanStudies at the Methodist University inthe capital. She said the hardest part ofthe work had been the research be-cause of a lack of books and libraries inAngola, but this was also an incentive.

Sonangol has announced a newliterature prize called the GrandePrémio Sonangol de Literatura. Seeback page of magazine for details.

Prose prize


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SPRING 2009 39

Refinery dealHouston-based Kellogg Brown

Root has been awarded a $6.4

billion contract to build Sonangol’s new

refinery at Lobito. The company will

provide engineering, construction

management and other services

needed to build the refinery, which is

expected to have a capacity of 200,000

barrels per day. The deal was signed in

December and will help Angola meet

its goal of reducing the need to import

refined fuel.

Supermajor desireEsso is hoping to expand its

business in Angola and may bid for

new oil-exploration licences. James Seale,

head of Esso Angola, told Reuters news

agency: “We’d love to expand our

business here. As the government plans

new licence rounds, we will look carefully

into that.”

Esso is also carrying out significant

investments in gas-gathering projects to

help feed Angola’s first LNG plant.

More wellsBP needs to establish more

reserves close to the second

of its proposed deep-water projects

in Block 31 before it can get the

go-ahead. Jim Campbell, vice president

of BP’s Angola business unit, said more

oil reserves were necessary to make

the project commercially viable.

Additional appraisal and exploration

wells will be drilled over the coming

months. The broad development plan

for all BP’s proposed projects in Block

31 and Block 18 has been approved by

Angola’s government, but an update is

needed and that will also have to be

sanctioned.

Sonangol is one of 47 compa-nies competing for explorationrights in Brazil. Galp, Partex,BP and Royal Dutch Shell arealso making bids. Brazil hasthe largest area in the worldwaiting to be explored for oiland gas. Fewer than 5 per centof the 29 sediment basins withhydrocarbon potential havebeen explored.

Samba whirl

NEWSgPipe UpA consortium made up of Acergy and French-based Spiecapag has been awarded a $550 millioncontract for the development of 50km of pipelinesin Soyo. The pipelines will transport gas fromblocks 0, 14, 15, 17 and 18 to Angola’s liquefiednatural gas (LNG) plant in the north. The work isdue to start immediately with offshore installationscheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2009.Olivier Carré, vice president of Acergy Africa andMediterranean, said: “We are delighted to havebeen awarded this contract, which represents animportant development in Angola’s plans to reduce flaring from deep-water blocks throughthe production of liquefied natural gas and condensate. This contract award reinforces Acergy’s strong presence in West Africa.”

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SPRING 2009 41

HEALTH

The best treatment

Angola is now home to one of Africa’s most advanced hospitals.Universo is given a tour of Clínica Girassol

SU21.Girassol.pp40-45:SU21 23/2/09 11:15


HEALTH

After seven years of planning, thedoors of Clínica Girassol are finallyopen. The hospital, built by Sonan-

gol, is the first in Angola to have a completeoncology service, a neonatal intensive careunit and a unit offering IVF treatment.

Its facilities also include an extensivematernity ward with a row of private pre-delivery and post-delivery rooms, a specialtheatre for performing Caesarean sectionsand on-site haematology laboratories tospeed up testing and diagnosis for patients.

Clínica Girassol is situated near Luanda Airport. It treats Sonangol staff butis also open to private patients. Built with amodern design, the hospital has a clean feeland is full of natural light. There aresculpted garden areas and comfortablewaiting rooms.

Dr Cremilda Lima, president of theclinic’s board of administrators, says: “Ourmission is to deliver health services with excellence. We want to offer three levels –healthcare, training and research – and wehave some of the most advanced facilitiesavailable in Africa. The idea was to have agradual opening, starting with just a few departments, and then the others, such asoncology, neurology and IVF, will come online later in the year.”

One of the units that is already open isthe neonatal intensive care ward. There arenine incubators and 15 cots in the ward,which is run by Professor Fernando Bastosfrom Brazil, assisted by nurse co-ordinatorPatricia Maia and a team of nurses whichincludes Maria Esperança Daniella, TeresaJosé and Idalina Amelia de Sousa.

“We have the best equipment here,”says Professor Bastos. “The best you couldfind anywhere in the world. This is a real beginning for Angola and it’s very reward-ing to work here and be a part of this newservice. We are very proud of what we aredoing here.”

The unit opened in September and,like the rest of the hospital, is building up itsworkload slowly to make sure everythinggoes smoothly. Last month, the team performed its first neonatal surgery on a premature baby with intestinal problems.The operation was a success and the childis making a good recovery.

The hospital was opened by PresidentJosé Eduardo dos Santos. It was named afterone of Angola’s early oil fields, Girassol,which means “sunflower” in English. �

Dr Cremilda Lima:“The best services”

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SPRING 2009 43

Baby matters: Professor Fernando

Bastos, top left,runs the neonatal

intensive care ward,which has state-of-

the-art equipmentincluding nine

incubators

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SU21.Girassol.pp40-45:SU21 23/2/09 11:15

SPRING 2009 45

HEALTH

It’s a wonderful place to work because the equip-ment is so new and it’s the best you can find“ ”

Alzira do Nascimento,obstetrics nurse

Clínica Girassol is the first hospital in Angola to offer acomplete oncology service and has specialist simulators

to pinpoint cancers in patients in preparation for more exact radiotherapy treatments.

There are six surgical theatres for head, neck and heart procedures and a specialised room for orthopaedic operations,as well as paediatric and gynaecology departments. The latest

MRI scanners and X-ray equipment will help with speedy diag-nosis, especially for those visiting the 24-hour accident andemergency unit.

Other more specialized medical services offered at the hos-pital include lithotripsy for treating kidney stones, nuclear medicine, which studies the nuclear properties of matter in diagnosis, and therapy using molecular imaging. �

For obstetrics nurse Alzira do Nascimento (picturedabove), Clínica Girassol was an opportunity she had longbeen waiting for. After spending 12 years working in

Algeria, she has now returned home to Angola to be part of thematernity team. “It’s a wonderful place to work because theequipment is so new and it’s the best you can find,” she says. “Ithink Clínica Girassol will encourage more medical profession-als to come back to Angola, which is what we need to help ourcountry grow for the future.”

As well as offering state-of-the-art healthcare, board president Dr Cremilda Lima says the hospital will also be a keytraining facility for Angola. Dr Lima, who studied medicine inAngola, specialised in gastroenterology in Italy and then did anMBA in health management in Germany, says: “This training element of Clínica Girassol is very important for Angola. We havethe best services here and the best equipment, and we can helpto consolidate the medical training already in the country by offering speciality training.”

➔

➔

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SU21.Martins.pp46-49:SU21 23/2/09 11:16

SPRING 2009 47

P&P

PUMPINGUP THE ACTION

What is Sonangol Pesquisa & Produção (P&P)?Gaspar Martins: Sonangol P&P is a subsidiary of the Sonangol Group involvedin the exploration and production of hydrocarbons. In this respect we give ourcontribution to materialise the vision of Sonangol EP to become an integrated andcompetitive company.

How long have you worked for Sonangol and how did you getinto the business?In 1976, I went to Italy to obtain a degree asa production technician with the EnricoMattei Institute of Eni. I have been with Sonangol since 1978.

How many people work for P&Pand how many are Angolan?The company has just over one thousandemployees. Expatriates represent approxi-mately one-fifth of the total workforce.

Which blocks and fields is P&Pcurrently working?P&P holds a working interest in 28 oil licences in the country. Of these, P&P operates eight blocks across all industrysegments, namely onshore (Block CabindaNorth); shallow waters (blocks 2-05, 2-85,3-05, 3-05A, 3-Canuku); deep waters (Block4-05); and ultra-deep waters (Block 34).

P&P is also present as a partner in 20oil licences across all domestic-industry segments as follows: onshore (Block

Cabinda South, FS/FST); shallow waters(blocks 1, 3-85, 3-91, 5, 6, 8, 10); deep waters (blocks 4, 14-KMI, 15-06, 16, 17-06,18-06, 23-26); and ultra-deep waters(blocks 31, 32, 33).

Are you working in any jointventures?The required volume of investment andhigh level of risk involved in explorationand field-development activities encour-age oil companies to set up joint venturesin order to implement the various projectsthey are involved in. As such, it is commonto work in partnership with the major international oil companies, the independ-ent oil companies and, more recently, withthe national oil companies of oil-produc-ing countries.

On the other hand, the highly specialised nature of some services in theoil industry such as seismic acquisition,commissioning of production facilities,drilling, and so forth, require that these aresubcontracted out. Thus, it is equally common to work in partnership with thelargest oil-service providers.

What is the US dollar value of theP&P business and how has thatgrown in the last five years?The company turnover is estimated at $1billion. Currently, average investments withthe Sonangol P&P business portfolio are estimated at just over $2 billion. This represents a sixfold increase in business �

Sonangol Pesquisa & Produção is the segment of Sonangol responsible for exploration and production.Universo spoke to its chief executive Gaspar Martinsabout partnerships and projects.

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P&P

over the last five years. These investmentsare essentially channelled into explorationand oil-field development programmes to replace reserves and increase productionlevels.

How many barrels per day doesP&P produce?In 2008, Sonangol P&P operated volumesthat reached a maximum of 80,000 bpd. A substantial increase is expected with theconclusion of the Gimboa developmentproject in Block 4-05 and the Morsa West development in Block 2-05.

Is this mainly for the domesticmarket?Some of Sonangol P&P’s crude-oil produc-tion is channelled to the domestic marketaccording to the capacity and requirementsof the Luanda Refinery. The remainder istraded on the international market.

Gimboa Block 4 has been a realsuccess story for Sonangol. Tell usmore about this.First of all, the Gimboa project has been implemented by Sonangol from end to end.It started with a successful exploration dis-covery in 2004. Previous internal seismicinterpretation and G&G [geology and geophysics] studies led to identification ofprospect UM1 and subsequently to thedrilling and hydrocarbons discoverythrough exploration well 4-41-1.

The field development is based onthree horizontal producing wells and fourdeviated water-injection wells to sustainreservoir pressures. These wells will flowthrough a subsea production system tiedup to a FPSO with storage capacity of twomillion barrels of oil.

Drilling these wells was a major challenge as it was the first time SonangolP&P had drilled horizontal wells at water

depths of 540 to 700 metres, resulting in thelongest horizontal well ever drilled in Angolan deep water. The length of the horizontal section was 1,600 metres.

Facilities construction was a furtherchallenge, as most of the design and commissioning occurred in various parts ofthe world, namely Angola (Soyo and Lobito), Dubai, India, Italy and Norway, tocater for the specific needs of each phase ofthe project. This required rigorous andcomplex management of the personnel involved in the project to ensure that it wasimplemented under the required qualitystandards, deadlines and budgetary limits.

The human resource side of the proj-ect was under the leadership of SonangolP&P, and most of the positions in the teamwere filled by Angolan engineers who fullybenefited from the knowledge transferwhile working with their expatriate coun-terparts in the initial phase of the project.

The project’s first oil is due in the firstquarter of 2009.

Does Sonangol P&P have plans toact as sole operator on otherblocks or fields?It is important to emphasise that normallyan oil company will operate an oil licence within an association of variouscompanies. In other words, it is rare to havea sole operator which funds and bears therisk of all operations.

Under this context, Sonangol began itsoperating activity in 1994, in the Kiabofield, Block 4, with the technical assistanceof a partner company.

At the end of the last decade, the company started the operation of Block 5and Block 34, in shallow and ultra-deepwater respectively, also with partner companies.

During this period, however, SonangolP&P also started the operation of the

Drilling these wells was a major challenge as it was thefirst time Sonangol P&P had drilled horizontal wells at waterdepths of 540 to 700 metres, resulting in the longest horizontal well ever drilled in Angolan deep water “

”Great explorer:Gaspar Martins

SU21.Martins.pp46-49:SU21 23/2/09 11:16

Canuku field in Block 3 with its own humanand technical resources.

From 2004 onwards, the company hasbeen operating, with its own resources,greenfield Angolan offshore areas such asblocks 2-05, 3-05A, 4-05 and Cabinda Onshore North, as well as mature offshorelicences such as blocks 2-85 and 3-05.

Where does P&P see its mainfocus for the next five years andbeyond?The main focus of Sonangol P&P in the nextfive years is to consolidate as an efficientand competitive exploration and produc-tion company by increasing its production,reserves and business portfolio with theemphasis on areas with high hydrocarbonpotential.

How has the fluctuation in oilprices affected P&P’s operations?Oil prices increased substantially in the firsthalf of 2008, reaching a maximum ofaround $150 a barrel. This improved profitmargins as revenues increased and less feasible projects became more attractive.However, the cost of goods and servicesalso increased, and further availability ofresources became tight as more projectswere being implemented around the world.

Oil prices suffered a hit towards theend of the third quarter, calling for tightermanagement of current project schedulesand costs. �

SPRING 2009 49

SU21.Martins.pp46-49:SU21 23/2/09 11:16

1. Bicuar National ParkAnimals that

previously lived inthe park included

giraffe, lion, rhino,gunga, zebra, elephant, red sable,deer, crane, huntingdog, spotted hyena,

leopard, honey badger, hippopotamus,bush pig and common duiker. The characteristic mammal of the region is the black buffalo.

2. Cameia National ParkUnfortunately, the wildlifehere was almost totally

wiped out. Previous inhabitants included thecheetah, hippopotamus,bush pig, reedbuck,oribi, sitatunga and hartebeest.

3. Cangandala National Park

This is where a popula-tion of giant sablehas been discovered.Other animals include the redsable, hunting dog,lion, leopard, wilddog and hyena.


4. Iona NationalParkOriginal faunaof the park included desertelephant, blackrhinoceros,black oryx,

kudu, zebra, springbok, steenbok, klipspringer, and Damara dik-dik.There are also reptiles and scorpions.

5. Kissama National Park

The game formerlyabundant hereincluded savannah

elephant, forestbuffalo, eland, roan

antelope, southern reedbuck, bushbuck, common duiker, blue duiker,lion, gunga, red sable, deer, blue monkey and southern talapoin, hip-popotamus and Nile crocodile. Thereare 300 identified bird species, includ-ing seven endemic birds of Angola.

6. Mupa National ParkMupa was initially made a national

park to protect the Angolan giraffe subspecies, but by 1974there were none left. Although virtually unstudied,the park is significant due toits birdlife. Some 182 specieshave been collected, includ-

ing the wattled crane.

Angola has six national parks. During the civil war, hunting decimated the animal populations in these parks, but in peacetime the numbers are growing again. Among the larger species indigenous to Angola are

leopards, lions, hyenas, elephants, hippopotamuses, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes,gnu and many types of monkey. There is little on the exact numbers of animals,but specific projects have been launched to save the most endangered species,including the giant sable, or palanca negra, the black rhinoceros, and the Angolan giraffe. Alison Bird

SU21.directory.map.pp50-51:SU21 23/2/09 11:17

SPRING 2009 51

Cabinda

Uíge

Bengo

Luanda

Kwanza Norte

Malanje

Kwanza Sul

Lunda Norte

Lunda Sul

Moxico

Kuando Kubango

Huíla

Cunene

Namibe

BenguelaHuambo

Zaire

Bíe

nb

illu

stra

tio

n/D

avid

Atk

inso

n

1

2

5

6

4

3

THE BIG PICTURE:NATIONAL PARKS

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