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PDF Format - Sonangol EP
SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Universo
www.universo-magazine.com
JUNE 2014
A NEW DYNAMIC:
Angola and Russia
NORTH FROM
LUANDA:
A new road ahead
KIZOMBA:
Angola’s dance sensation
Life
at Sea
ISSUE 42 – JUNE 2014
INSIDE:
oil and gas news
Board Members
Francisco de Lemos José Maria (President),
Anabela Soares de Brito da Fonseca,
Ana Joaquina Van-Dúnem Alves da Costa,
Fernandes Gaspar Bernardo Mateus,
Fernando Joaquim Roberto,
Mateus Sebastião Francisco Neto,
Paulino Fernando Carvalho Jerónimo
Sonangol Department for
Communication & Image
Director
Mateus Cristóvão Benza
Corporate Communications Assistants
Nadiejda Santos, Lúcio Santos, Sarissari
Diniz, José Mota, Beatriz Silva, Paula
Almeida, Sandra Teixeira, Marta Sousa,
Hélder Sirgado, Kimesso Kissoka
Publisher: Sheila O’Callaghan
Editor: John Kolodziejski
Proofreading: Gail Nelson-Bonebrake
Circulation Manager: Matthew Alexander
Group President: John Charles Gasser
Universo is produced by Impact Media
Custom Publishing. The views expressed
in the publication are not necessarily
those of Sonangol or the publishers.
Reproduction in whole or in part
without prior permission is prohibited.
This magazine is distributed to a closed
circulation. To receive a free copy:
[email protected]
Circulation: 15,000
Davenport House
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United Kingdom
Tel + 44 20 7510 9595
Fax +44 20 7510 9596
[email protected]
www.universo-magazine.com
www.sonangol.co.ao
[email protected]
Magnificent Seven
7
FIGURED OUT
A brief glance at Angola in numbers
8
A NEW DYNAMIC: ANGOLA−RUSSIA
How Angola and Russia are refreshing their long-established relations
16
WORLD DANCES TO ANGOLA’S TUNE
Angola’s indigenous kizomba and semba dance styles are becoming
8
22
NORTH FROM LUANDA
The last major long-distance highway from Luanda is nearing
16
A
30
SONANGOL NEWS BRIEFING
Highlights of noteworthy news items from Sonangol EP and
its subsidiaries
fter a long and lively campaign process involving every part of
the country, Angola chose its seven favourite domestic tourist
attractions in the 7 Natural Wonders competition in May.
During the contest Angolans learnt more about their own land
and the natural treasures it possesses, thanks to the huge publicity generated.
After weighing up all the candidate attractions, the people voted in their
tens of thousands for the top seven, which included mountains, waterfalls,
rainforest, grottos and a lake.
What everyone learned from this engaging process is that Angola has
magnificent natural riches which need to be cherished.
The millions of Angolans who have followed the contest closely now
know what their country has to offer them as tourists. The hope is that they
will help protect and preserve the Magnificent Seven and indeed all the other
wonders so that future generations can share the same enjoyment.
34
34
MAKING CAREER WAVES
A woman’s place nowadays may be far from home. We look at the
inspiring career choice of Angola’s first female marine engineer
38 ANGOLA’S HOUSING BOOM
Angola's new residential projects are now filling up with owners
and tenants. We take a tour and survey progress to date
44 QHSE: IMPROVING WORK
Quality, health, safety and the environment are major Sonangol
concerns. We meet the QHSE team to see how they're reaching
38
these goals
John Kolodziejski
Editor
2 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
A roundup of national and international news concerning Angola
completion. We examine the impacts on investment and tourism
Production Assistant: Sebnem Brown
Project Consultant: Nathalie MacCarthy
Shutterstock
Art Director: Tony Hill
Sub Editor: Brian MacReamoinn
ANGOLA NEWS BRIEFING
popular abroad. We look at this growing hip-swinging phenomenon
www.angolaimagebank.com
Managing Editor: Mauro Perillo
4
Full Frame Studio
Universo is the international
magazine of Sonangol
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Contents
50
BOARDROOM BIOGRAPHIES
The backgrounds of Sonagol EP’s board members
44
JUNE 2014 3
Angola news briefing
Angola news briefing
State visit to France
Vatican homage
■ After making his visit to France,
President dos Santos went to
Rome, where Pope Francis
received him in audience at the
Vatican. Both acknowledged
the important contribution
of the Catholic Church to
Angola through its educational
and healthcare institutions.
They also discussed various
challenges in the region, such
as the fight against poverty and
social inequality.
During his trip President dos
Santos laid a wreath at the ‘O
Negrita’ tomb. This contains
the remains of a 16th-century
envoy sent by the Congo
Kingdom to make contact with
the church authorities.
Angop
■ President José Eduardo dos Santos
made a three-day state visit to France at the
end of April, where he met his counterpart
François Hollande. In a speech to 80 key
business people, President dos Santos
encouraged investment in Angola to the
mutual advantage of both countries.
“We consider it of the utmost importance
that foreign investors establish true
partnerships with Angolan investors with
reciprocal benefits, involving not only
capital investments, but also knowledge
and technology transfers and shared
participation,” he told his audience.
The Angolan head of state pointed out
that the country had now consolidated
macroeconomic stability and controlled
inflation while undertaking an ambitious
public investment programme in rebuilding,
modernising and expanding infrastructure
in health, basic sanitation, education
and transport.
“We believe that there are many ways
that can bring the parties to end the crises
and conflicts, and help to normalise the
situation in all the countries of the Great
Lakes region,” said President dos Santos.
In a further development, US Assistant
Secretary of State for African Affairs
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and President
Obama’s special envoy to the Great
Lakes region, Russell Feingold, paid a
working visit to Angola on April 10–11.
The move highlighted the strategic
partnership dialogue that exists between
the two countries and demonstrated US
support for Angola’s leadership role in
the ICGLR.
Angop
■ Luanda was the venue for a Summit
of the Heads of State and Government
of the Committee of the International
Conference on the Great Lakes Region
(ICGLR) on March 24. The leaders
discussed issues concerning the
situation in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC) and steps to be taken
to neutralise the negative forces that still
persist there.
The summit, hosted by President
dos Santos, included Presidents Paul
Kagame of Rwanda, Pierre Nkurunziza
(Burundi), Jacob Zuma (South Africa),
Joseph Kabila (DRC) and Denis Sassou
Nguesso (Congo).
African Press Organization
4 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Angola hosts Great Lakes summit
JUNE 2014 5
Angola news briefing
Angola news briefing
Angolan census on track
US envoy praises Angola
Ferry service
expanding rapidly
■ President dos Santos officially opened four new
the period May 16–31. This was the first to be done in the country
since 1970.
The procedure will be crucial for drafting public and private
policies intended to improve Angola’s living conditions and the
geographic distribution of the population. The census will discover
how many Angolans there are, where they are and how they live.
Camilo Ceita, general director of the National Statistics Institute
(INE), is co-ordinating the 2014 census. INE was temporarily
Angola’s largest employer during the nationwide operation, with
around 65,000 people gathering information. Provisional results will
be published three months after all the data is collected.
Voters choose
7 Natural Wonders
■ The result of Angola’s nationwide vote to select the
nation’s top seven natural wonders was announced on May
2. Angolans in their thousands responded to the campaign,
which aims to publicise and protect the country’s natural
assets and attract sustainable tourism.
The top seven natural marvels were: the Fenda da
Tundavala, a spectacular gorge in Huíla province; the
Mayombe rainforest, Cabinda; the Kalandula waterfalls,
Malange; the Nzenzo Grottos, Uíge; Lake Carumbo, Lunda
Norte; Rio Chiumbe waterfalls, Lunda Sul and the Morro do
Môco mountains in Huambo.
■ US Secretary of State John Kerry has praised Angola’s role in
mediating peace in the Great Lakes region.
“We heard congratulations from the American Secretary of State for
the initiatives undertaken by President José Eduardo dos Santos and
the Angolan government so that the continent may know peace,” said
Angola’s foreign minister, Georges Chikoti.
Mr Kerry held private talks with President dos Santos during his
48-hour visit, and the two men also discussed a $600 million credit for
Angola from America’s Ex-Im Bank to finance the purchase of more
Boeing aircraft.
FIGURED OUT
Angola in numbers
$594 million
diamond sales from Angola’s Catoca mine in 2013
Portuguese now
enjoying Angolan beer
Shutterstock
■ Cuca, the market leader in Angolan beer, is now
6 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
exporting to Portugal. It dispatched a first consignment
of 86,000 bottle to Portuguese wholesaler Makro in
April. Angolans living and working in Portugal are
the target market, along with the many Portuguese
expatriates who have previously worked in Angola.
Virgilio Pinto
■ Angola conducted a general population and housing census in
Associated Press
Shutterstock
ferry terminals on April 3. Two ferry boats, each
with capacity for 420 passengers, will operate
between the terminals. The service will initially
connect the main hub, the Port of Luanda, to the
southern suburbs of Macoco and Kapossoka, and
the resort island of Mussulo. Eventually ferries will
link all the main points along Angola’s coast as well
as in the River Zaire estuary.
35,000
number of homes Sonip is currently building
$16 billion
amount of Total investment in projects in Angola
130 million
tonnes of phosphates about to be
mined in Zaire province project
650 million
number of estimated barrels in
the Kaombo project oil deposits
JUNE 2014 7
INTERNATIONAL
Moscow International Business Center,
also known as Moscow-City
Angola and Russia’s friendship has endured despite
long periods of adversity. Universo examines how
relations are faring now that both countries are on
the path to increased prosperity
8 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
JUNE 2014 9
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A NEW DYNAMIC:
ANGOLA-RUSSIA
Array of radio-telescopes
- the Quasar observatory in Badary
INTERNATIONAL
INTERNATIONAL
R
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“Russia has always helped Angola, and
Angolan success is a source of pride for us”
Moscow nights
Air support
Russia’s most visible and enduring
co-operation in Angola has been in aircraft
and military equipment. The ubiquitous
Kalashnikov AK-47 automatic rifle is the
weapon of choice for Angola’s army and
security guards. The Angolan air force uses
sophisticated Russian MiG and Sukhoi
fighter aircraft, while Russian Antonov and
Ilyushin planes are the workhorses for a
substantial part of the country’s muchneeded cargo transportation.
Russia’s transport aircraft have long
played a vital role in carrying heavy and
bulky freight throughout Angola, such as
serving the important diamond mining
industry in Lunda Sul province. They
Antonov AN-124
St Basil’s Church in Moscow
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In the ambassador’s view, co-operation
between the two countries is experiencing
a new dynamic in its development, with
collaboration extending not only to the
economic, trade and finance domains,
but also to technical and scientific
investments. These areas are now receiving
their due attention in political dialogue, as
both sides have greater interest in their
expansion, he says.
– Dimitri Lobach, the Russian Federation’s ambassador to Angola
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10 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Russian Federation
and Angola size comparison
Shutterstock
ussia’s roots run deeper in
Angola than anywhere else in
Africa. Russian christian names
proliferate, and it is not difficult
to find Angolans called Ivan, Vladimir, Igor
and Nadiejda, to name just a few. Close
co-operation between the two states,
especially in the 1970s and 1980s, meant
that significant numbers of Angolans lived
and trained in the Soviet Union, while
Russian doctors treated many Angolans.
So, Russia’s language and culture has
penetrated at all levels of Angolan society.
Many Angolans, including President José
Eduardo dos Santos who trained there as
an oil engineer, are fluent Russian speakers.
Long and fruitful co-operation between
the two countries dates back many years
to the early days of independence when
Russian specialists in many fields helped
Angola establish itself as a stable and
prosperous country.
“Russia has always helped Angola,
and Angolan success is a source of pride
for us,” said Dimitri Lobach, the Russian
Federation’s ambassador to Angola, in a
recent speech.
The combination of Angola’s return
to peace in 2002 and Russia’s economic
stability and strong growth in the past
decade has instilled greater energy into their
relations. The two countries are reinforcing
existing co-operation in energy and diamond
mining, while a recent drive to expand trade
is focusing on new areas such as satellite
technology and vehicle manufacture.
However, the level of Russia’s economic
exchanges is still currently relatively weak
compared to those of other countries such as
China, Brazil and many much smaller nations.
Trade between Angola and Russia
totalled just $37 million in 2012 and rose to
$100 million last year.
Ambassador
Lobach
believes
this amount of trade is still very little
considering the level of historic, economic,
cultural and scientific relations between
the two peoples, and he is determined
to raise it. Russia’s present wider foreign
policy aims to consolidate its friendship
and co-operation with Africa, and Lobach
sees Angola as having pride of place among
its partners on the continent.
JUNE 2014 11
INTERNATIONAL
INTERNATIONAL
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Russia and the MPLA (Popular
Movement for the Liberation of
Angola) have been closely linked
for well over half a century. As the
main component of the former
Soviet Union, Russia provided
crucial support for Angola’s
liberation movement during the
colonial period. The two countries
forged a closer relationship as
the MPLA became Angola’s
government and the USSR
supplied much-needed weaponry
to fend off attacks from the
apartheid regime of South Africa.
Thanks to Soviet support, Nelson
Mandela’s ANC party was able to
use protected bases in Angola and
eventually overturn apartheid.
The end of the Cold War and the
dissolution of the USSR in the early
1990s led to a shrinkage in Angola’s
Russian connection that is only
now showing signs of revival.
Sukhoi Su-27
12 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Diamonds are forever
Russia has had an enduring and prosperous
partnership with Angola in the Catoca
diamond mining project in Lunda Sul since
the early 1980s. This is the fourth largest
diamond mine in the world, with 2013
output of 6.5 million carats.
The mine is one of the planet’s largest
kimberlite pipes with deposits estimated
at 271 million tonnes of ore, of which 189
million carats (worth about $11 billion)
are recoverable.
Russia’s interest in Catoca, once
exercised by the Soviet state diamond
company Yakutalmaz, has been run
by private company Alrosa since 1992.
Yakutalmaz carried out the original
geological and feasibility studies for Catoca
on behalf of the Angolan government.
The Sociedade Mineira de Catoca
(SMC), the consortium running the
mine, was established in 1992. Its current
shareholders are Angola’s state diamond
company Endiama and Russia’s Alrosa
(32.8 per cent each), Brazil’s Odebrecht
(16.4 per cent) and LLI Holding BV, a
China–Sonangol holding (18 per cent).
SMC aims to become the world’s
third-largest exporter of rough diamonds
by 2020 and have an annual turnover of
around $1.6 billion, more than doubling
2013 sales worth $594 million.
Alrosa has developed a dam on the
nearby Chicapa River to power the energyhungry Catoca mine as well as Lunda
Sul’s provincial capital, Saurimo. This has
sharply cut operating costs by replacing
expensive diesel generators.
Last year the company also approved
the creation of new joint ventures for
diamond prospecting and exploration
in Africa, including an agreement with
Endiama to prospect in Angola.
Space for growth
Russia’s economic revival has given fresh
momentum to trade relations with Angola,
accelerating co-operation in new areas. A
major project benefitting from increased
Russian interest is the sale of satellite
technology to Angola. Space launch
services survived and even prospered after
the crisis that followed the breakup of the
Soviet Union.
Angola is benefitting from a Russian
$400 million credit line for the Angosat
telecommunications project, provided
through the state’s Ruseximbank. The
venture involves construction of a land
station in Luanda and the launching of the
first Angolan satellite.
The new satellite represents an
ambitious step towards improving
Angola’s communications infrastructure,
acquire advanced technology and
offer telecommunications services to
neighbouring countries. It fits in well with
Angola’s progress towards becoming an
economic hub and reinforces its growing
influence in southern and central Africa.
Angosat will take three years to build,
and its launch is scheduled for 2016.
Angolans are already training to operate
Russia’s
economic
revival has
given fresh
momentum to
trade relations
and make best use of the technology.
Russia is currently supporting an Angolan
PhD student, two Master’s students and
four satellite specialist trainees.
There will be two bases for satellite
operations: one in Luanda and one in
Moscow. The initial phase of the project,
centred in Moscow, will offer work
experience and training; subsequently, the
satellite will be operated from Luanda.
Trucks and turbines
Another new area of investment interest
expressed by Ambassador Dimitri Lobach
expressed in March is building a plant to
produce Russia’s top-selling Kamaz trucks.
“This year and next, we aim to implement
the construction of a Kamaz assembly
factory and of cargo wagons, providing
jobs and contributing to the development
of Angola,” he told Vice-President Manuel
Vicente. The project is expected to take two
to three years to complete.
The ambassador added that Russia was
also interested in investing in farming and
industrial infrastructure in Angola.
In a meeting with officials in Malange
province, he said that Russia wanted to
help the province with its experience, given
that Russian businesspeople are disposed
to invest in several sectors in this area.
Malange province is the site of the
Capanda dam, which uses Russian
turbines. It is also a major farming area
where large-scale agribusiness in sugar and
cereals is completing major developments.
The province’s deputy governor,
Domingos Manuel Eduardo, said that
Russia is a country which acts as a stimulus
Start of rocket Soyuz TMA-10 with
an international command on board
JUNE 2014 13
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Old ties
can also swiftly bring in urgently needed
equipment for the oil sector.
The former USSR offered less visible
but equally vital support when it supplied
the turbines for Angola’s largest postindependence power dam at Capanda
in the 1980s. The USSR also provided
educational and health support in the form
of training and doctors.
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INTERNATIONAL
INTERNATIONAL
Angola: the view
from space
for investments, especially in the area of
agribusiness, and that Malange is interested
in hosting a Kamaz truck assembly line.
Training for the future
Kamaz truck
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Lada production line in Togliatti, Russia
Angola and Russia shared a
minor connection during the first
ever space mission, Vostok 1.
When Soviet cosmonaut Yuri
Gagarin made the world’s first
manned space flight on April
12, 1961, Angola was one of
the few countries overflown
in that single-orbit trip, which
lasted just an hour and 48
minutes. While over Angola’s
coast, Gagarin started the
re-entry procedure by firing
the retro-rockets for his long
descent and eventual landing
at his base in the USSR some
8,000km away.
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14 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Russia’s first museum: Kunstkamara, Saint Petersburg
During a visit to Angola in October 2013,
Dmitry Rogozin, vice-president of the
Russian Federation, said he expected
companies in Russia’s energy sector to
make greater efforts at taking part in
Angola’s economy, because the country
needs more power.
“A very important aspect that we
underlined during our audience with
President dos Santos is our industrial
co-operation and the possibility of creating
industrial units on Angolan soil for making
machinery and mechanics such as cars,
which will be in a number of agreements,”
Rogozin said.
He also said Russia would also seek
co-operation agreements on fisheries,
health and culture.
Co-operation in higher education is
well established and began in the 1960s.
Russia offers Angolans scholarships at
undergraduate and postgraduate levels,
and there are joint scientific research
projects between the universities of the
two countries.
In 2012, some 90 Angolan undergraduates and PhD students attended
Russian universities with the aid of
grants from the Russian government.
There are a number of agreements in
place between the Angolan government
and Russian universities, including
St Petersburg Technical University, the
People’s Friendship University of Russia,
Kaliningrad State Technical University
and Gubkin Russian State University of
Oil and Gas.
Moscow also still plays a major role in
training Angola’s armed forces. Over 500
Angolans underwent training in Russian
military universities and police academies
in 2012.
Russian medical assistance also has a
long tradition in Angola. Over 340 Russian
doctors work all across Angola and enjoy
a reputation for efficiency, despite facing
many challenges in terms of housing and a
lack of medical equipment. p
Sergei Abramochkin enjoys Kalandula Falls
From Siberia to Luanda
Sergei Abramochkin, a 38-year-old
native of Tomsk in western Siberia,
recently spent three years of his 10 years
at oil service company Schlumberger
in Angola after working in the oil
sector in Russia. He studied Electrical
Engineering at the Tomsk University of
Control Systems and Radioelectronics
and Petroleum Engineering at
Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University.
In Angola, Sergei worked in the
reservoir engineering support of
offshore well test operations.
“Apart from Malaysia and Angola I
have worked only in Russia; in Moscow
and Noyabrsk, North Siberia. I knew
Angola was a challenge for anyone
moving there and, like everyone else,
I was very worried about being cut
off from the social lifestyle I enjoyed
while living in Russia and Malaysia.
How wrong I was! Luanda shrapnelled
me with the full palette of activities
available in the city.
“The main secret to turn a living
experience into full enjoyment is to start
socialising and think Angolan. Whether
it’s an oil lecture event or simply a night
out in a club on Luanda’s Ilha peninsula,
you will always bump into someone
who can give you a better and friendlier
insight into how to explore both the
country and culture on your own.
“I expanded my gastronomic
horizons with the local cuisine. I tried
out funge (cassava porridge), caldo de
peixe (fish stew) and choco frito (fried
squid served in hot chilli sauce) in bars
and restaurants while looking across
Luanda Bay to a wonderful view of the
city’s evening lights.
“Arts and music were immediate
temptations, as was buying and
bargaining for country craftwork.
I listened to the funky vibes coming
out of a local Cape Verdean bar in
the Chicala area on Saturday nights.
It goes without saying that annual
events, such as the International
Jazz Festival and the famous Luanda
Carnival, were unmissable.
“You can turn the lack of developed
tourism to your advantage as any
individual’s tourism will be inimitable as
will be the conversations and emotions as
the country opens up for your eyes only.”
Sergei remembers well Muxima, a
place for religious pilgrims; the cave
at Sumbe; majestic Pungo Andongo –
huge black rocks on a plain; tranquil
Huambo and the breathtaking Serra da
Leba mountain range.
“Unfortunately, I did not succeed in
exploring some remote parts of Angola,
such as the mysterious Baía dos
Tigres (Tigers’ Bay) and the fabulous
Foz do Cunene (Cunene river delta),
accessed only by risking a run along
the endless ocean coast. I became so
passionate about this idea that even
nowadays, after being transferred back
to Moscow, I keep looking at the map
of Angola and asking myself, when am
I going back there?”
JUNE 2014 15
CULTURE
Kizomba enthusiasts dance at
sunset on Luanda Bay every Sunday
WORLD DANCES TO
ANGOLA’S TUNE
Two dances from Angola are becoming
unexpectedly popular around the world.
Universo checks out their moves
16 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
JUNE 2014 17
Full Frame Studio
By Lula Ahrens
A
Full Frame Studio
ngola’s semba and kizomba
dances are seeing a surge in
popular demand at home and
a tremendous breakthrough
worldwide. The country’s top dancers are
excited, but are also worried about a loss
of the dances’ Angolan ginga, or authentic
natural movement, when performed
outside their national borders.
Every Sunday after 5pm, semba and
kizomba enthusiasts meet in a small
square on Luanda Bay to dance all the way
through Luanda’s magical sunset. A group
of regular and new admirers gathers each
time to watch.
Dance teacher and oil reservoir
geophysicist Paulo dos Reis, created
Kizomba na Rua ‘Kizomba in the Street’ in
December 2012. Interestingly, the event
was a replica of one in Europe. Dos Reis
got the idea from a Cape Verdean friend,
Adilson Rodrigues, who set up ‘Kizomba
in the Street’ in Paris on the banks of the
River Seine.
Semba and kizomba have quickly
gone global. “Six years ago, one could only
find foreign dancing competitions – salsa,
tango, house, and so forth in Angola. Now,
it’s the other way round; Angolan kizomba
and semba form part of the international
dance scene. We have taken them onto the
big stage,” Mukano Charles told Universo.
Charles is the ‘godfather’ of Angola’s
very own International Kizomba Contest,
which he started in 2009. Every year,
the two contest finalists go on
to represent Angola at the
international competition África
Dançar (Africa Dancing) in
Portugal, which opens the doors
to other dance opportunities
around the world.
In Angola itself, semba and
kizomba are also seeing a rapid
increase in popularity. “Our
country is growing. More and
more young people are taking
an interest in dancing. Unlike
18 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
in the past, we now regard semba and
kizomba as an art. They run through every
Angolan’s veins,” said Charles.
As well as Portugal, the countries in
which these native dances are most popular
include Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and
Príncipe, East Timor, Brazil and the territory
of Macau (all former Portuguese colonies).
However, since around 2010, they have
been also stealing the show in Belgium, the
United States, Australia, Spain, Poland,
France, Hungary, UK, Italy, Ireland,
Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Czech Republic,
Slovenia and Serbia. It is an exciting
development, but with some downsides
as well.
“We Angolans dance naturally,” awardwinning Angolan dancer Bonifácio Aurio
explained. “Europeans tend to ‘mechanise’
the rhythms, because they don’t learn and
listen to the music in its natural context.
Foreigners take a workshop and then call
themselves a ‘dancing instructor,’ which in
the West is a lucrative profession. Outside
our borders, these types of low-quality
‘teachers’ spread like a virus.”
“Our dances are misinterpreted
abroad, and turned into a type of tango or
salsa due to lack of information,” Mukano
Charles told Universo. “We need to respect
the Angolan ginga of semba and kizomba.
The Angolan contest finalists do that by
bringing the dances’ true nature to the four
corners of the world.”
Semba
Semba has been popular in Angola since
the 1950s. The word semba originates in
Angolan indigenous language Kimbundu
and derives from masemba, which means
‘a touching of the bellies’ – a characteristic
semba dance move.
The 19th-century travel writer Alfredo
de Sarmento described semba dancing
thus: “A batuque consists of a circle formed
by dancers, where a black person goes into
the middle and after performing a few steps,
Full Frame Studio
CULTURE
Full Frame Studio
CULTURE
“Semba and kizomba run through every
Angolan’s veins” – Mukano Charles
gives the person of his choice a belly-bump,
known as a ‘semba’, who then goes into the
middle of the circle to replace him.”
According to Sarmento, the ‘semba’
was a metaphor for sexual intercourse,
and therefore highly criticised by the more
conservative sections of colonial society.
Semba music was strongly influenced by
the ancient Kingdom of Kongo and central
Angola’s Bantu people. Centuries later, it
underwent further transformation as Angola
became more urban and music developed
in line with new Western technology.
Traditionally, semba songs are sung in
Kimbundu, and sometimes other national
languages such as Umbundu and Kikongo.
Modern tunes are in Portuguese.
Lyrics often tell a cautionary tale of
day-to-day life, usually in a witty manner.
During the Angolan War of Independence
(1961–75), semba songs focused mainly
on Angola’s fight for freedom. The
versatility of this dance music is evident
in its inevitable presence at both Angolan
funerals and parties.
Several new Angolan semba artists
have broken through each year, rendering
homage to the veteran masters, many of
who are still performing.
The legendary band Ngola Ritmos has
contributed enormously to the spread
of this music. Barceló de Carvalho, the
singer known as Bonga, is one of the most
successful and best-known Angolan artists
to popularise semba internationally. Other
icons include Liceu Vieira Dias, Domingos
Van-Dúnem, Mário da Silva Araújo,
Manuel dos Passos and Nino Ndongo.
Tango influences
Portuguese colonisers brought over
a broad range of European and other
dances to Angola, and these soon mixed
with traditional local dances. These
included the Argentinean tango. Tango
influences appear in both semba and
kizomba. Curiously, the tango originally
developed under the strong influence of
Africans, most of them – again – from the
Kingdom of Kongo, who were taken to
South America as slaves.
JUNE 2014 19
CULTURE
CULTURE
Semba is the precursor of various music
and dance styles including Angolan kuduro,
Brazilian samba and Angolan kizomba. The
name kizomba these days is confusingly
used to describe both semba and kizomba.
In Angola in the 1950s, the Kimbundu
expression kizombada referred to a party.
After Angolan independence in 1975, zouk
music from the French Antilles became
popular in Luanda. It mixed with semba to
form kizomba in the 1980s.
Angola’s SOS Band spurred this
development. Former band member Eduardo
Paim, regarded as one of the founders of the
kizomba genre, moved to Portugal in the
1980s, taking the music with him.
Kizomba, in turn, gave rise to Angola’s
most explicitly sensual or even sexual
genre, tarrachinha. Tarrachinha is danced
within both semba and kizomba on the
music’s slow intermezzos, but has also
developed into a genre of its own.
“Tarrachinha is the baby, kizomba
is the mother and semba is the father,”
according to Bonifácio Aurio. “In Angola,
we don’t take tarrachinha very seriously. In
Europe, they do.”
Dominant male
So what is so beautiful and enchanting
about Angolan semba and kizomba?
“The connection!” exclaimed Paulo
dos Reis. “The possibility to talk without
speaking, to lead and follow, without one
being superior over the other. When the
woman understands my every little signal,
and it just flows…that’s too beautiful.”
There is, however, a clear difference
between the male and female roles in both
dances. The man not only leads, he is also
the creative brain and by far the more
active of the two.
“Semba and kizomba are most difficult
for men to learn,” Aurio said. “The man is
the ‘fighter’, he performs and creates most
tricks and has to develop his own style
and charisma.”
Dancing king
Full Frame Studio
Bonifácio Aurio won Angola’s International
Kizomba Contest and Lisbon’s África Dançar
20 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
in 2012 together with his former dancing
partner Conceição Matuaia. This year, he is
one of the contest’s jury members.
To reach a high level as a male performer
takes time, effort, talent and enthusiasm,
he explained. “I started dancing kuduro as
a child. Semba was very mysterious to me,
I used to watch it a lot. One day when I was
10, my mum put me on her feet. That’s how
she taught me to dance. To this day, semba
is my favourite dance alongside Afro house.
“I danced everywhere I could, then took
semba, kizomba and other lessons every
day for four years at a well-known local
dancing school called Kandengues Unidos.
In 2009, I became a teacher at the school.”
While semba and kizomba have
become a lucrative business in the rest of
the world, Angolan teachers still face a lack
of opportunities at home. Mukano Charles,
Paulo dos Reis and Bonifácio Aurio all agree
that Angola is in dire need of professional
dancing schools.
Aurio moved to Portugal in May 2013
to study International Relations and give
dancing classes. “In Angola, I don’t see a
long-term professional future for myself as
a dancer. There is a lack of opportunities
– professionally speaking, it is an
underdeveloped area. Angola desperately
needs a professional dance academy, also
for our traditional, regional dances. Our
country has many talented dancers, so I
believe that day will come.”p
Dancing gene
In 2005, William Brown and
colleagues
from
Rutgers
University and the University of
Washington published a paper
in Nature demonstrating that, as
Darwin had proposed, humans
use dancing also as a means for
selecting genetically desirable
mates. Dance ability is more
useful for men than for women,
as females are thought to be the
more selective sex.
JUNE 2014 21
Full Frame Studio
Kizomba and tarrachinha
PROVINCE
Angola’s northwest has become more easily accessible from the capital,
thanks to a newly-rebuilt highway. Universo looks at the broad range of
exciting investment and travel opportunities in the region
22 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
JUNE 2014 23
Andreas Linke, courtesy of Gauff
NORTH
FROM LUANDA
Shutterstock
Andreas Linke, courtesy of Gauff
Getty Images
PROVINCE
PROVINCE
L
M’banza Kongo heritage
M’banza Kongo is the administrative
capital of Zaire province. It also has strong
ambitions to develop its tourist industry
based on its history as home to the kings of
the Kongo. To this end it has been seeking
UNESCO World Heritage Site status
since 2007. The Angolan government has
designated it a ‘National Cultural Heritage
City’ in preparation for its UNESCO
status bid with Minister of Culture Rosa
Maria Martins da Cruz e Silva guiding
the process.
Portuguese explorers first made formal
contact with African royalty at M’banza
Kongo in 1483. The city now aims to recover
part of its past greatness by rebuilding
and modernising its infrastructure. In
recognition of M’banza Kongo’s importance
to Angola, President José Eduardo dos
Santos laid the first stone for a monument
Pope John Paul II visited Angola in 1992
commemorating Kongo king Dom António
I there in September 2012.
Apart from showcasing its ruins, the city
is developing a museum to tell the Kongo
kings’ story. Tourists can also visit Sunguilua
on the River Zaire, where the kings were
ceremonially washed before burial.
The city also has great significance for
Angola’s main religion, Catholicism. In
1992, Pope John Paul II visited the ruins
of M’banza Kongo’s Sé Cathedral. Built
in 1491, the cathedral was the first below
the equator.
Thanks purely to its natural beauty, the
M’brige waterfalls at Kuimba, 50km east of
M’banza Kongo, is another tourist attraction.
Apart from its political and historic
importance, M’banza Kongo has promising
agribusiness potential, thanks to its
location at the edge of Angola’s plateau.
Farms around the city produced 170,000
24 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Shutterstock
Timber is plentiful in Zaire province
tonnes of crops in 2013, including cassava,
groundnuts, maize, beans, bananas, sweet
potatoes, citrus fruits and pineapples.
Zaire’s highland areas also have
excellent timber products potential as
the area is part of the Congo rainforest.
Angola’s Forestry Development Institute
(IDF) has tree nurseries near M’banza
Kongo at N’kunga a Paza and at Nkiende
to ensure sustainability.
The 225km Nzeto–M’banza Kongo
highway, recently completed by German
firm Gauff Engineering, goes through
Tomboco, where there is a sawmill and
carpentry industry fed by timber cut in the
Kuimba area.
Soyo: investment magnet
Lying at the mouth of the mighty River
Zaire some 440km from Luanda, Soyo is
northwest Angola’s economically most
The Mouse of Mussera
important city and has recently attracted
substantial new investment.
Soyo hosts the landward terminal for
most of the oil and gas piped from Angola’s
offshore fields. It is also where a $10 billion
Angola LNG plant is now producing
liquefied natural gas, LPG, butane and
condensate for sale at home and abroad.
The environmentally friendly plant uses
gas formerly burned off as a waste product.
The city is also home to major oil
industry base, Kwanda. Here oil companies
Texaco, BP, Fina and Sonangol and service
companies Bechtel, Halliburton and
Petromar operate support facilities and
shipyards. This cluster of service companies
means Soyo is well placed for vocational
training and one speciality developed so
far is metalworking.
Recently GLS Oil & Gas, a joint venture
led by General Electric, announced a $175
M’banza Kongo is
the administrative
capital of Zaire
province.
It also has strong
ambitions to
develop its tourist
industry based on
its history as home
to the kings of
the Kongo
Caxito is famous for its bananas
Shutterstock
uanda now enjoys continuous
direct overland access to M’banza
Kongo in Zaire province, close to
the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC) border. The highway north
linking Luanda to the province completes
the last major artery from the capital.
On its way, the 340km road penetrates
a promising area of investment and tourist
options. Once clear of the intensely busy
port and Sonils offshore service area at
Luanda, the road soon turns into a six-lanewide avenue as far as Cacuaco on the edge
of the densely-packed urban area. From
there it passes through sparsely populated
countryside to Caxito, Ambriz and Nzeto
before turning inland and on to M’banza
Kongo. A variant from Nzeto continues
along the coast to the important oil industry
centre of Soyo. This crucial Nzeto–Soyo
250km highway is still under construction.
JUNE 2014 25
PROVINCE
PROVINCE
million investment in a factory making
undersea oil and gas equipment at Soyo.
Soyo has also attracted a $500 million
investment for a gas-fired generation unit.
The plant is scheduled to supply 400MW
of much-needed energy to the main towns
in Zaire and Luanda provinces in 2016,
providing a welcome boost to manufacturing
and food processing in the region.
Oil, gas and their associated
infrastructure are the foundation for a
number of industrial projects earmarked for
Soyo. These include plans for an oil refinery
and a fertiliser plant using ammonia and
urea derived from hydrocarbons. There
are also projects for the production of
methanol, pesticides, ethylene, polymers,
phosphoric acid, and tyre retreading and
steel for construction.
Soyo is not all work, and the highly
skilled workforce also has leisure time
options. There are nature reserves for
ecotourism and deserted beaches within
easy reach, such as Kimbriz Beach, only
70km south of the city. There are also
Angola’s northwest
C ABIN DA
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Congo (Zaire) River
Pedra do Feitiço
River cruises
Kuimba
Soyo
Proposed
oil refinery
Maquela
do Zombo
Mbrige
Falls
Mavoio
Copper mining
region
M’banza kongo
Soyo-N’zeto Highway
under construction
National heritage site
ZAIRE
Kimbriz beach
Tourism
Farming (eggs, maize, beans, cassava,
banana, pineapple, groundnuts)
ANGOLA
Tomboco
AT L AN T I C
O C E AN
Iron ore
Proposed sugar refinery
Salt, brick, cement works
Phosphates
U I GE
Bembe
nautical activities such as sailing and sports
fishing on the Zaire estuary. The city boasts
the largest concentration of restaurants
and hotels in Zaire province.
River cruises are also available; Pedra
do Feitiço – a sacred site – and Ponta do
Padrão, the exact spot where Portuguese
explorer Diogo Cão landed in 1482, are
within easy reach of Soyo. Porto Pinda, the
scene of the first Christian baptism south of
the equator and a former slave export point
is also tourist destinations near Soyo.
New links
Despite the undoubted economic
importance of Soyo, only now is it in the
process of gaining good overland road
access. Freight transport has depended on
the sea and air for many years. However, the
high-tech oil industry with many expatriate
specialists is well served by the newlyrebuilt and expanded Soyo Airport which
registered 18,508 take-offs and landings in
2013, an extra nine flights a day compared
with 2012. It can handle 2,000 passengers
N’zeto
Petroleum
LNG
Uíge
Mussera
Mining
Angola’s northwest has
rich mineral potential,
including copper, silver,
bauxite, mercury, lead,
granite and mineral water
Timber
Sugar, ethanol
Ambriz
Ambriz
Petromar plant
Nambuangongo
Port
International airport
Highway
BEN GO
Mabubas
Dam
Barra do Dande
Caxito
Road
Cacuaco
River
Housing construction
Luanda
20 km
20 miles
N
LUA NDA
26 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
D. R. CONGO
Luanda
Angoflex plant
Rail
Fruit and vegetables
Farm machinery
ZAIRE
ANGOLA
0
400 km
0
200 miles
Mark Clydesdale (BZO)
National capital
Provincial capital
Town, village
Park / Reserve
JUNE 2014 27
PROVINCE
Angoflex at Barra do Dande
simultaneously and, with its 24 shops and
three restaurants, rivals Luanda’s airport in
terms of comfort.
Soyo will undergo a communications
revolution when the new Nzeto road
is completed, which will likely have a
strong impact on cutting food prices and
increasing the flow of tourists. The new road
will also form an energy corridor as it will
have running alongside it a gas pipeline and
transmission lines from the Soyo generation
plant currently under construction.
The port of Soyo will also shortly
benefit from a fast catamaran service,
which began operating along the coast of
Luanda province in April 2014. Eventually
this service will extend from the capital to
all major towns along Angola’s northwest
coast: Cacuaco, Barra do Dande, Ambriz,
Nzeto, Soyo and Noqui on the Zaire
estuary. This alternative to the road also
28 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
opens up the coast’s tourism potential
where a day out on the beach and sampling
Angola’s bountiful seafood is most visitors’
idea of a good time.
Nzeto awakens
Roughly halfway between Luanda and
M’banza Kongo lies Nzeto, at present
a sleepy fishing town on an important
road junction just two hour’s drive from
Luanda on a newly-resurfaced road. When
the Nzeto–Soyo road is completed later
this year, the town’s economy is likely to
experience a boom as new traffic passes
through and allows the easier distribution
of farm products. For example, some 2.5
million eggs will soon be produced each
year by the Agrarius agribusiness concern
at Nzeto in addition to cassava flour
and corn.
A sugar refinery at Kinzau just north of
Peter Moeller
Courtesy of Angoflex
Andreas Linke, courtesy of Gauff
PROVINCE
Nzeto is planned which will also produce
alcohol and generate power from its waste
materials. There are also plans in place for
salt, tile, brick and cement works in the town.
The whole of Angola’s northwest is
blessed with good beaches, and Mussera
Bay – just 56km south of Nzeto – is one of
the best.
Mineral wealth
Angola’s northwest has rich mineral
potential, including copper, silver, bauxite,
mercury, lead, granite and mineral water.
One of the region’s major resources
already being developed is phosphates
from the Lucunga Basin, just north of
Nzeto. Vale Fértil Limitada is developing
the $82 million first stage of a $1
billion project to exploit the estimated
130-million-tonne deposit. Phosphates
are a key fertiliser ingredient and are also
used in toothpaste, detergents, soft drinks,
vitamin supplements and animal feed.
The project consists of a mine, a
processing plant and storage units. A new
port in the Nzeto area will be built and a
power generator installed when the project
is completed in 2017.
World demand for phosphates is very
high, and Angola’s deposits have the
advantage of a coastal location, allowing
easy access to overseas market as well as
the promising domestic farming sector.
Ornamental stones are already
quarried at Tomboco and at Mussera,
halfway between Nzeto and Ambriz. An
Angolan-South Korean joint venture
works quarries at Mussera and also at
Caxito further south. The company is also
interested in developing metals mining in
Angola’s northwest.
Just over the border from Zaire
province in neighbouring Uíge there are
large areas of mineral deposits, stretching
from Bembe, a copper mine before 1974,
to Mavoio near Maquela do Zombo on
the DRC border. Copper reserves are
estimated at around 16 million tonnes.
Intensive mineral surveying is currently
underway. Geology and Mines minister
There are many
investment
opportunities in
Angola’s northwest
that the new
highways and power
supplies will make
even more attractive
Francisco Queiróz has revealed there are
long term plans to build a 400km-long
railway from the mining area to the port
of Soyo.
Bengo: thriving province
The port of Ambriz in Bengo province lies
just off the Luanda–Nzeto highway and is
home to another oil industry facility. Here
Petromar, a joint venture of ENI’s Saipem
and Sonangol, builds metal structures for
the oil industry.
Nearer Luanda, Barra do Dande hosts
an Angoflex yard where umbilicals are
manufactured and loaded for use in deepsea oil and gas production. Umbilicals are
sheaves of pipelines that connect to and
control suites of valves on the seabed.
The busy little fishing area of Barra do
Dande nearby has been chosen as the site
of the new port of Luanda which has now
no extra capacity. The new deepwater port
will have plenty of room to expand and will
have a bulk terminal for future iron ore
and manganese exports from the Dondo
region. This port will likely have a rail link
to the existing Luanda-Malange line.
Not far from Barra do Dande is Caxito,
capital of Bengo province. Caxito forms a
natural gateway and service centre for the
farming areas in Zaire and Uíge, given its
location at the road junction of the two
provinces. The city is already developing as
a centre for agribusiness and aims to form
a cluster of support industries that can
manufacture and repair tractors, farming
implements and irrigation equipment.
Caxito itself has a thriving and
expanding irrigated farming area and
food processing with its own power dam,
Mabubas (27MW output). Caxito produces
increasing yields of fruit and vegetables,
with bananas and tomatoes in the
forefront, for the nearby Luanda market.
The road ahead
There are many investment opportunities
in Angola’s northwest that the new
highways and power supplies will make
even more attractive. Electricity will
boost mining, manufacturing and food
processing. It will also aid the distribution
of foodstuffs by powering cold storage, a
boon for fishermen and farmers who often
suffer from inadequate refrigeration of
their surplus produce.
Fasten your seatbelts: Angola’s
northwest is on the road to prosperity. p
JUNE 2014 29
Sonangol новости
Sonangol новости
Total invests
$16 billion in Angola
African refiners
plan the future
■ France’s Total, one of Sonangol’s largest international partners, marked 60 years in
Angola by investing $16 billion in the country’s deep-sea oil and gas fields. The money
will be used in the Kaombo project in Block 32, which will cost $4 billion less than
originally estimated. Kaombo has reserves of around 650 million barrels of oil, and output
is expected to reach 230,000 bpd when the facility starts up in 2017. The deposits are
located 260km off the coast of Luanda between water depths of 1,400 and 1,900 metres.
Total operates Block 32 and has a 30 per cent stake, as does Sonangol P&P. Other
shareholders are Sonangol Sinopec Internacional (20 per cent), ExxonMobil (15 per cent)
and Portugal’s Galp (5 per cent).
Angola makes giant pre-salt find
■ Sonangol announced Angola’s largest pre-salt oil discovery
so far in the Kwanza Basin on May 1. The find was made in the
Cobalt International Energy–operated deepwater Block 20/11 in
exploratory well Orca-1.
Orca-1 reached a depth of 3,872 metres. In tests the
30 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
well yielded 3,700 barrels of oil and 16.3 million cubic feet of
gas per day. Cobalt estimated the wells reserves to be 400–
700 million barrels. Block 20/11 partners are Cobalt (40 per
cent), Sonangol P&P (30 per cent) and BP Exploration Angola
(30 per cent).
Annual General Assembly of the
African Refiners Association (ARA) in
Marrakech, Morocco, on March 28.
The conference theme was “Energy
in Africa: Supplying the fuels of
the future”.
Sonangol’s team included the
delegate administrator Custódio
Gonçalves, director of Operations
and Production at Luanda Refinery
Victor Ramos, and Sonaref board
member Augusto Bravo.
Gabon’s Pierre Reteno N’Diaye,
director general of the country’s
refining company Sogara, was
elected ARA president for the period
2014–15.
It will be remembered that
Sonangol administrator Anabela
Fonseca took on ARA’s nonexecutive presidency two years ago.
From left to right: Irina Pedro, Victor Ramos, Augusto Bravo, Pierre Reteno
N’Diaye, Custódio Gonçalves, Tona Tabita N’Damba and Roberto Graça
Main square of Marrakesh, Morocco
Shutterstock
SNL / Igor Sachs
■ Sonangol took part in the ninth
JUNE 2014 31
Sonangol новости
Sonangol новости
SPORTING SUCCESS
Angoflex contract win
Sonamet
expands
yard
Angolan
blocks
under the
hammer
■ Sonangol and Technip joint venture
Angoflex
Angoflex has won a contract to supply
umbilicals for Total Angola’s Kaombo
project worth up to $690 million.
Angoflex will work on the project with
UK company Duco.
The work includes engineering,
procurement and manufacture of 120km
of umbilicals. Most of this will be done
at the Angoflex yard in Lobito, making
it one of the largest umbilical projects
to be undertaken there following the
facility’s expansion in 2012.
■ Angola started the tender process for
10 new onshore oil exploration blocks
on May 30. Seven of the blocks are in
the Congo Basin and three are in the
Kwanza Basin.
Companies taking part submitted
documentation on their business
structures, activities and finances
before April 30 in order to prequalify.
Most Angolan oil is tapped from deepsea offshore wells. Development of
onshore oil is much cheaper and
therefore should attract more bidders
than usual.
Sonangol said the 10 blocks may
hold average deposits of 700 million
barrels of oil each. Angola’s total
reserves are under 13 billion barrels.
Mateus de Brito
(1960-2014)
■ Sociedade Nacional Metalúrgica
(Sonamet), manufacturer of metal
structures for the offshore oil
industry, is investing $56 million
in building new quays at its Lobito
shipyard in Benguela province.
The quays, half of which
Sonamet will complete this year,
will be 320 metres long and will
have capacity to load structures
weighing up to 5,000 tonnes.
Sonangol has a 40 per cent interest
in Sonamet, while lead shareholder
Subsea 7, owns 55 per cent.
32 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
www.angolaimagebank.com
■ Angola LNG sold its first butane and first condensate cargoes in March and April,
respectively. Sonangol, which has a 22.8 per cent stake in the company, purchased
both shipments.
The butane and condensate shipments mean that Angola LNG has now
successfully completed loadings of all its products. The firm’s Soyo plant has already
shipped LNG and LPG.
Shutterstock
Latest products
from Angola LNG
■ Sonangol EP and all those associated
with the company regret the sudden death
of former board member Mateus de Brito.
Mr de Brito passed away at the early age
of just 53 on April 2.
Born in Dondo, Kwanza Norte
province, on October 23, 1960, Mr de
Brito gained a degree in Geophysics with
specialties in Geology and Mathematics
from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
He also completed postgraduate courses
in geophysics in Colorado and Texas, as
well as in England.
Mateus de Brito began working for
Sonangol in 1984 as an assistant in the
Planning Department. Two years later he
was transferred to the Prospecting and
Research Department. From 1997 to 2002
he was assistant director-general of the
Sonawest joint venture between Sonangol
and Western Geophysical.
Mr de Brito was named director of
Exploration at Sonangol in 2002 and three
years later joined Sonangol EP’s board. As well as his playing a leading role
at Sonangol EP, Mateus de Brito was also
president of Petro Atlético Sports Club
from January 2012. Under his leadership,
Petro enjoyed success by winning two
Angola Cup trophies and one Supercup as
well as two African club champions’ cups
for women’s handball. Mateus de Brito
was always an example to all sporting
leaders and has left an important legacy
for sport in Angola,’ Petro said.
Sonangol EP offers its sincere
condolences to Mr de Brito’s family,
friends and former colleagues.
JUNE 2014 33
Sonangol careers
Sonangol careers
MAKING
CAREER
WAVES
The labour needs of Angola’s fast-expanding
economy mean women are increasingly taking on
roles normally reserved for men. Universo meets
one young Luandan woman who has embarked on
a career on Sonangol’s ships
Mum was very frightened, and even
now she doesn’t understand, which is
comprehensible, as it isn’t very easy for a
mother to see a daughter in an area which
is more promising for men. Dad is a sailor,
and he helps and gives me lots of support
and only says he doesn’t like small ships.
A
It isn’t easy. Some men are fascinated;
others discriminate against you, often
because it’s a job without many women,
especially in Angola. When people hear
about it, they are fascinated, but aboard
the ship some people test your capabilities
all the time. Others are afraid for you when
you are doing a heavy job, and they come
to help.
Unfortunately there’s still much gender
discrimination, something that nowadays
shouldn’t happen, because we women
have already shown sufficient capability
and that we are able to do any kind of work.
life on rolling seas interrupted
by constant visits to a noisy
engine room: being an engineer
aboard a ship is not everyone’s
cup of tea. It takes special qualities of
endurance and inner strength to face
the routines of this relatively isolated
occupation. So, when one meets 23-yearold Arlete Jandira Ginga Fastudo, her
bubbling enthusiasm for her chosen
occupation comes as a bit of a surprise.
Arlete has taken to her role as a marine
engineer – well, like a duck to water –
and she leaves one in no doubt of her
determination to succeed. Her bright
personality and optimism are bonuses
for those who come into contact with and
work alongside her.
For women in many countries, a career
on a ship has not been an option, if at
all, until relatively recently. Why did you
choose to be a marine engineer?
Since I was a child I couldn’t decide whether
to be an engineer, because I saw my father
fixing almost anything and I wanted to be
like him, or to be a lawyer, owing to the
influence of films, but as I’ve always been
a very practical person with a desire to do
and solve things, I chose engineering. Once
I entered high school, I became passionate
about engineering, and since then my love
for this area has just kept on growing.
What was your parents’ reaction to your
career choice?
So, what’s it like being a woman in the
world of men that is a ship?
Are there many female mariners?
I don’t think so, but we’re growing in
number. There are a considerable number
Sonangol’s modern tanker fleet requires highly-trained Angolan crew
Arlete Fastudo:
marine engineer
34 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
JUNE 2014 35
Sonangol careers
Sonangol careers
SPORTING SUCCESS
Arlete Jandira Ginga Fastudo –
What’s in a name?
of women at the training stage ready to
become officers. I had the privilege of
being the first, and I would encourage
everyone to succeed so as to contribute to
the growth of Sonangol and the country.
There are 20 women working on
Sonangol ships: one officer and 19 cadets.
In the last ship I was on there were two
women and 23 men aboard.
you, and does the smart uniform attract
people’s attention?
Angola Maritime Training Centre
Yes, it has. Some are very curious to know
more about a woman who has had the
courage to follow a career at sea, and there
are those who approach me just because
of the uniform.
What’s life like on a long voyage?
Are there women on other African ships?
I’ve no idea of the numbers, but I can
say that Nigeria is the country training
the most women for the merchant navy;
there are also Congolese and South
Africans in this world of shipping. That’s
in Africa, but I believe in the whole world
there are many countries with a high
number of women in this job.
Angolan women since the country’s
War of Liberation are noted for taking
on roles normally associated with men,
such as in the armed forces. Is the lack
of trained personnel an explanation for
this prominence, or do they have specific
talents for tasks that they do well and
may even be better at than men?
I would say that necessity is the main
reason why Angolan women get involved
in these jobs and battle to get what
they want, apart from the courage and
determination which are characteristics
of Angolan women.
What are the career steps needed to
become a marine engineer?
People’s names can tell a story. ‘Fastudo’ is an unusual surname and
attracts interest. It translates as ‘does everything’ – a perfect moniker
for a multi-tasker. Arlete’s grandfather Domingos Fastudo Augusto Rosa
gained the name because of his many occupations. He was a farmer,
trader and owner of the Boa Altura ranch in fertile Kwanza Sul province.
Arlete is named after Brazilian soap star, actress Arlete Salles,
whose picture her mother saw in a magazine. The sweet-sounding
‘Jandira’ is also exotically Brazilian. It means ‘honeycomb’ in the
indigenous Tupi-Guarani language. While Ginga is very fitting - Queen
Ginga was Angola’s warrior queen. It’s the perfect name for a striving,
career woman.
36 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
The career ladder is: cadet, fourth
engineer, third engineer, second engineer
and chief engineer. The road is long and
it isn’t easy to reach the top, but, with my
force of will and humility, I plan to reach
the highest level and, who knows, one
day, I may work as a supervisor. Whereas
a chief engineer is in charge of engineers
on board a ship, a superintendent works
on land and inspects ships.
Has your career inspired friends to copy
Life on board a ship is calm, but there
are also days that are very busy, as in
all workplaces. The time it takes to
reach a destination depends on the
route planned and the speed of the
ship, but is normally around 20 days.
As for facilities, we have wifi, table
tennis, a gym, a recreation room where
we watch safety videos once a week,
games, karaoke. We watch films, read
magazines. The cabins are clean and
comfortable, and when I’m in my cabin
normally I listen to music, watch a film,
do research and study.
In days on duty when I’m on the high
seas, I work from 8am, take a tea break
from 10 to 10:30, have lunch between 12
and 1pm, then a break 3:30–4pm and at
5pm we finish. Then I return to my cabin,
and at 9pm I go down to the engine room
for a round. When we are in port, we work
in shifts: six hours on and six hours off.
Which countries have you visited as a
student and crew member so far?
As a student I went to India and Scotland
(Glasgow). As a member of the crew
I’ve been to the United States, Nigeria,
Singapore, England, Congo, Denmark
and Holland.
The $80 million Angola Maritime
Training Centre (AMTC) officially
opened on February 24. Located at
Sumbe, 350km south of Luanda, the
AMTC includes staff and student
residential facilities. It is owned
by Sonangol EP and operated in
collaboration with City of Glasgow
College (COGC), Scotland.
The centre aims to vigorously
and actively support the
Angolanisation programmes of
both Sonangol and the wider
maritime industry in the region. It
will provide complete training for
maritime ratings and the first year
of academic training for deep-sea
deck and engineer officer cadets.
COGC will continue to provide the
second academic year in Glasgow
until AMTC has developed its own
capability in this area.
Australian John Lloyd has
been named as AMTC’s first
principal. The initial intake was 14
cadets, of which four were female.
Eight were deck cadets and six
engineer cadets. Cadet numbers
were set to double after April.
AMTC will eventually offer
courses for 192 students which will
SPORTING
SUCCESS
have international
accreditation
Nnectoreserum Sum quis quatius
and approval from
the
UK
Maritime
essit aut ea sam qui voluptatus
and Coastguard
Agency
(MCA)
or
sanimetus nus.
Nihit,Maritime
consed que nimintur?
Qui
the South African
Safety
nis dolorup
nus,
Authority (SAMSA).
Sotatur,
farvoluptatem
SAMSA
idio quam ut occullaborro estius
has accredited
12
safety
and
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technical courses.
Nnectoreserum moloriam alis
AMTC opening ceremony
What would you say to a young person
choosing a career?
Be yourself and follow your dreams. Just
do what you love, because no one else
will do it for you.
There’s no doubt Arlete is clearly
doing exactly that. p
JUNE 2014 37
Sonangol housing
Sonangol housing
ANGOLA’S
Zango’s colourful
apartment blocks
HOUSING
BOOM
Angola’s bold housing policy is bearing
fruit. Residential developments, especially
in Luanda, are nearing completion and
their occupants are settling in. Universo
witnesses the rapid expansion of new
homes up and down the country
T
aking off from Luanda airport on a
clear April evening, a plane heads
southwest. It arcs round to the east
to take up its northern flight path
over the dark sprawling city below. Suddenly
a dense, bright array of lights catches the
passengers’ eyes. This is Kilamba, the massive
new residential area that Sonangol’s housing
arm, Sonip, is helping develop alongside the
modern highway that embraces the capital.
As the plane flies northwards, everyone’s
attention is drawn to two equally brightly-lit
districts along the same road. These are two
more Sonip-supported developments: Zango
and Cacuaco.
All three new housing projects stand out
in sharp contrast to the large darker areas
of Luanda which power infrastructure and
supplies have yet to reach.
Universo visited Zango and Kilamba
in late March and was impressed by how
growing numbers of residents were settling
into both developments and making them
into thriving communities.
The giant Kilamba development, 20km
south of Luanda city centre, is the nucleus
of a 21st-century town which will eventually
become home to as many as 485,000 people. Its
spacious, well-kept green areas have schools,
clinics, bars and restaurants, and most of the
accommodation is high-rise.
“It’s the largest housing project ever built
in Angola and is an outstanding example
of social policy carried out in a country to
solve the housing deficit,” said President José
Eduardo dos Santos when he officially opened
the complex in July 2011.
Luanda’s recent housing developments
offer new dwellers a sense of space and
freshness of the open air thanks to the gardens
and wide avenues separating the buildings.
This is a huge improvement over the cramped,
insanitary conditions of the huge, often roadless
shanty towns that still cover much of the capital.
“The creation of the city of Kilamba is
a modern way to think about cities and is
part of the executive’s efforts to face up to
the constant growth of the country’s capital,
whose infrastructure is unprepared for the
population of over five million it has today,”
said the president.
“This decentralisation will enable the
pressure to be taken off the old centre of
Luanda, improve the participation of the
citizen in public matters, meet the growing
needs for housing and give its inhabitants a
better quality of life,” he added.
Zango has two main types of housing. One
consists of tall, colourful blocks surrounded
by lush, well-established gardens; these are
located alongside the beltway. The other type
is of individual and semi-detached chaletlike homes with backyards that already
boast fruit trees. They are found between the
beltway and along the road to Calombo on the
River Kwanza, just to the south of the main
runway of Luanda’s new giant international
airport development.
Press tour
The capital is the largest but not the only part
of Sonip’s work in providing much-needed
housing for Angola. In early March Sonip’s
executive commission president, Orlando
Veloso, toured several Angolan provinces with
journalists over a period of five days to show
them the housing projects it is managing.
In Luanda the delegation visited the Zango
development, which will have a total of 8,000 homes
when completed later this year. They also looked
around the first phase of Kilamba, scheduled to
have its first 5,000 homes ready in 2015.
Veloso told the journalists Zango was 75
per cent complete, and Kilamba first stage was
“Angolans have a right to housing
with a minimum of dignity and comfort”
– President José Eduardo dos Santos
JUNE 2014 39
Brazuk
38 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Sonangol housing
95 per cent done, with the second stage
45 per cent.
When these new houses and apartments
are fully occupied, the two developments will
have 78,000 residents, all with guaranteed
water supply, basic sanitation and electricity.
Other services include schools, crèches and
local government offices.
As well as visiting Luanda, the tour
took in Cabinda, Huíla, Namibe and
Benguela provinces.
Cabinda
In oil-rich Cabinda province, just north of
the mouth of the River Zaire, the special
housing area at Chibodo with 2,002
apartments is practically finished, and its
first residents will move in this June.
Huíla
The press group saw 11,000 homes under
construction at the Kilemba development
in Huíla’s lush highland provincial capital,
Lubango. This project consists of 6,160
17-year-old Alexandra
N’Geve said she and
her family had been
living in Zango I for
a year and were very
happy there. She
attends school in
Kilamba new town,
which has a direct
link via Luanda’s
urban beltway.
Brazuk
Brazuk
Sonangol housing
houses and 4,840 apartments, and the first
7,500 units will be ready to live in by the
end of 2016.
Namibe
A visit to Namibe, Angola’s seaboard
desert province, took in the Praia Amélia
and Cinco de Abril developments, which
comprise a total of 4,000 properties. The
first has 1,656 houses and 344 apartments,
which is 78 per cent finished, while
half of the latter’s 1,800 houses and 200
apartments have been built.
Benguela
The journalists then inspected Benguela’s
Baía Farta development. It has 2,000 homes,
which should be ready in October this year.
The Luhongo project at Catumbela, near
the province’s new international airport,
will have 108 houses and 992 apartments.
These are currently 21 per cent complete.
The last development on the tour was the
major port city of Lobito, where one-third of
the planned 3,000 homes (2,144 apartments
and 856 houses) are now finished.
All these projects include the building
of primary and secondary schools, crèches,
water treatment stations, energy supplies,
and social services and public institutions.
Government’s social policy
Maria Lindesa Gomes da Silva
has been living in Zango IV for
over a year with her husband
and two young children. Her
family moved from Morro Bento
in Luanda’s older urban core,
which is being redeveloped.
Air conditioning chills the
living room while her toddler
daughter watches a cartoon
on a flat-screen TV. Maria
Lindesa enjoys the fact that
Zango has constant energy
supplies, running water and
electricity. She is also pleased
at the easy access to clinics,
schools and supermarkets.
During the visit to Benguela, Sonip’s Orlando
Veloso explained, “During this tour of five
days, we’ve visited more than 35,000 homes
that are today a reality. What we see here is
social housing, which is the main concern
and objective of government actions.”
When all the housing developments
visited are completed, they will have some
210,000 residents. House sales will be
carried out in stages.
Veloso also said that Sonip has been the
executor of this undertaking, and pointed
out that the advanced stage of completion of
most of the projects will permit the housing
of thousands of families in better conditions
by the end of this year. p
Carlos da Silva and his
sister-in-law, Maria Lindesa
JUNE 2014 41
Brazuk
40 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Sonangol housing
Sonangol housing
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“The projects will permit the housing of
thousands of families in better conditions”
– Orlando Veloso, president of Sonip’s executive commission
DO
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42 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
JUNE 2014 43
Sonangol QHSE
QHSE:
Sonangol QHSE
All companies aim to perform well, but safety and
protection of the environment are becoming equally
important concerns. Universo examines the growing
sophistication of Sonangol’s workplace culture
IMPROVING WORK
44 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
JUNE 2014 45
Shutterstock
The environment is one of Sonangol’s principal concerns
Sonangol QHSE
Sonangol QHSE
S
urprisingly, most accidents are
likely to happen at home, despite
the perception that this is the safest
place to be. Some 4,000 people
die and a whopping 2.7 million suffer
accidents requiring hospital treatment in
the UK each year.*
The consequences of these domestic
misfortunes do not usually go beyond the
walls of the house.
How much more difficult and serious is
the question of ensuring company health
and safety, especially if the workplace
is an offshore oil rig handling highly
inflammable oil and explosive gas pumped
under great pressure? The risks multiply
and may affect large numbers of people.
An oil sector work accident could involve
dozens of work colleagues and the wider
general public, and costly oil spills may
damage the environment over a large area.
“We’re in a high risk industry; we
couldn’t not do QHSE,” Daniela Matos,
director of Sonangol’s Quality, Health,
Safety and Environment Department, told
Universo. “QHSE helps Sonangol control
risks and improve safety while protecting
the environment at the same time. It’s a
preventive process.”
Sonangol is pursuing a vigorous QHSE
policy. This is a body of procedures and
practices designed to reduce and eliminate
risks in the workplace and their impacts
on the wider environment. The quality
element aims to enhance organisational
performance. QHSE practitioners treat all
four factors as innately connected.
The costs of not having a totally
effective QHSE programme can be
catastrophic. The Deepwater Horizon rig
explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 cost
the lives of 11 workers and $42.7 billion so
far in damages. Experts believe another
$20 billion may have to be paid out in
compensation and fines.
So not surprisingly Sonangol, along
with most other major oil companies, has
chosen the path of proactive prevention
by implementing detailed, comprehensive
QHSE programmes.
Daniela Matos brings key skills to
her job; she studied Chemistry in Boston
and also completed a master’s degree in
Environmental Management in Milan.
Her objective is to add value to
Sonangol as a result of the implementation
of a QHSE system through the control of
risks that may affect the organisation.
“For an organisation to have an
environment to develop its activities
successfully, it’s necessary that all actions
that are carried out follow the standards
of safety, quality and environmental
care. That’s how the QHSE Department
adds value.
“To have a better understanding, it’s
necessary to think that the occurrence of an
environmental, safety or quality incident
can stop or hinder the normal functioning
of an organisation,” Matos explained.
“The idea that such an event could
undermine the performance of the
organisation is what boosts the development
of control measures, resulting in the
application of known techniques of QHSE.”
The implementation of a QHSE
programme starts with a meticulous survey
of how an organisation operates and a
detailed analysis of its objectives. Then
courses and training are administered
to optimise the effectiveness of staff
in meeting their objectives in terms of
performance, health and safety and impact
on the environment. The aim is to achieve
best practice by a process of continuous
monitoring and improvement.
“Quality, safety and environment have
the same origin. The same causes which
lead to problems in quality also lead to
problems in safety and environment. As
such, creating creating a culture of QHSE
in the organisation is important because
doing so allows you to solve problems at
their origin,” said Matos.
Matos is determined that the result of
Sonangol’s QHSE programme will be that
all company personnel will have greater
knowledge and a better perception of how
to best perform their roles.
“QHSE should not be seen as a boss,
but something staff see as their own. It’s
important that the staff internalise the
concept, that it becomes intrinsic to what
they do and then becomes their routine and
a state of mind,” she explained. “Quality,
safety and respect for the environment is a
permanent campaign.”
Sonangol’s QHSE Department has
*Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
“QHSE should translate
instinctively into
productivity, quality
and benefits
for the environment”
− Daniela Matos
What is QHSE?
The four components (Quality,
Health, Safety and Environment)
treated together are a responsible
corporate management approach
based on the belief that human error
causes all accidents, and therefore
better management and training
can prevent these accidents
“Quality, safety and environment are
based on the same philosophy of action:
prevention. When a threat is detected,
it is analysed and controlled.
Prevention is the basis of the
philosophy of risk control in QHSE”
46 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Shutterstock
– Daniela Matos,
director of Sonangol’s QHSE Department
JUNE 2014 47
Sonangol QHSE
Sonangol QHSE
Sonangol’s QHSE team
Sonangol has never suffered a major oil
accident or spill; the QHSE Department
aims to keep it that way
in 2004. However, prior to that a number
of Sonangol representatives had been
through Safety Management Training at
DNV’s facilities in Brazil.
In addition to the work it has done
on Progressa-Q, DNV has carried out a
number of projects, studies and training
events for Sonangol EP as well as for its
subsidiaries, including Risk Management
for Training, Projects, and Enterprise
as well as Implementation of ISO 9001,
Process Plant Operational Performance
Assessment, Environmental Impact
Assessments, Asset Integrity Assessments
and Cost Evaluations, Incident/Accident
Investigation, Inspection/Certification
of Lifting Appliances, Hazardous
Area Classification, Implementation
of OHSAS 18001.
More recently DNV has performed HSE
audits on various assets both onshore and
offshore and provided IRCA (International
Register of Certificated Auditors)
accredited OHSAS 18001 auditor training,
Risk Management Training as well as
training in Sustainability and Corporate
Social Responsibility for Sonangol EP. DNV
is presently carrying out a training and
consultancy programme called Behaviour
Bases Safety.
Going forward
Quality certification
As part of QHSE, Sonangol is undertaking
a wide-ranging quality performance
48 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
certification programme throughout the
company. Here, independent auditors
verify the achievement of high standards
such as ISO 9001.
So far several subsidiaries, including
Sonangol’s training, distribution, logistics,
telecommunications, Luanda refinery
and trading arms, have earned quality
certifications.
Certifications for other subsidiaries - oil
operator Sonangol P&P, SonAir (aviation),
Sonave (shipping) and Sonaci (oil and
gas trading) - are expected by the end of
2014. Sonangol EP and 10 other Sonangol
businesses are scheduled for quality
certification by the end of 2018.
Kevin Stearns, office manager at
Sonangol’s London office, said there is no
compulsion for companies to undertake
QHSE and performance certification
programmes, but they are an important
quality indicator for potential business
partners, apart from their intrinsic benefit
for the company.
Helping hand
DNV has been assisting Sonangol in
implementing its QHSE procedures. The
company began life as a ship classification
and inspection service for insurers in
the 1860s. In the 19th century, Norway
had the third largest shipping fleet in the
world. In the 1970s, the company extended
its services to offshore installations and
pipelines.
When ISO 9000 certification was
established in 1987, DNV began its
management system service certification
based on these standards. It became an
independent business unit in 1995.
The Norwegian company commenced
its relationship with Sonangol in earnest
A recent DNV position paper on offshore
safety has shown that occupational health
and safety has improved tenfold in the
past 20 years throughout the world. Major
accident hazards have also diminished in
some operating areas, notably in the North
Sea. However, this improvement has not
extended to all offshore areas globally.
The tasks of QHSE professionals are
relentless. In Sonangol’s case, they must
ensure workforce awareness of the risks
involved in increasingly complex work
environments such as deep-sea drilling or
new onshore oil and gas facilities.
Sonangol is a relative newcomer to
the world of QHSE, but its commitment
to success in this demanding area is clear.
The company has never experienced a
major accident or oil spill. Daniela Matos
and her colleagues are determined that
this will remain the case.p
JUNE 2014 49
Shutterstock
a mantra: “A work of quality is a faithful
reflection of the person who does it.”
According to the director, QHSE
begins by challenging staff perceptions
of how they perform their roles, and then
observing the importance of their taking
responsibility for their actions. Staff and
the company must make sure standards
are implemented well.
Sonangol EP’s QHSE efforts began
in earnest in 2003, and Matos believes
the company has made progress in
implementation. Sonangol, guided by a
world leader in QHSE – Norway’s DNV–
undertook Project Progressa-Q, a series of
measures to lay firm foundations for QHSE
in 2004.
Sonangol people
Sonangol people
SONANGOL
BOARD MEMBERS
Francisco de Lemos José Maria
President of Sonangol’s board
Francisco de Lemos José Maria was born in Lobito,
Benguela province, on May 31, 1962, and joined
Sonangol in April 1989. He has a degree, diploma and a
master’s in Economic Sciences.
He exercised several management positions at
Sonangol before joining Sonangol EP’s board. He was
finance director, executive administrator, director of
Planning and director of Foreign Trade before being
promoted to the board presidency in January 2012.
50 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Anabela Soares de Brito
Fonseca
Administrator
Ana Joaquina VanDúnem Alves da Costa
Administrator
Fernandes Gaspar
Bernardo Mateus
Administrator
Fernando Joaquim
Roberto
Administrator
Mateus Sebastião
Francisco Neto
Administrator
Paulino Fernando
Carvalho Jerónimo
Administrator
Born in Huambo on
September 3, 1960, Anabela
Soares de Brito Fonseca
has worked for Sonangol
since January 1996. She
holds a degree in Chemical
Engineering and has
occupied several leading
positions at Sonangol.
Before joining the
Sonangol EP board, she was
director of the Office for
Market Operations (GOC).
Mrs Fonseca now oversees
the following activities
at Sonangol EP and its
subsidiaries: the Department
of Information Technology,
Department of Quality,
Safety and Environment,
Sonangol Exploration and
Production (P&P), Sonangol
International Hydrocarbons,
Sonangol International
Trade (Sonaci) and Sonangol
Shipping International
Limited (SSHL).
Ana Joaquina Van-Dúnem
Alves da Costa was born
in Luanda on January 2,
1961. She has a Chemical
Engineering degree and
joined Sonangol in April
1989. She has held several
management positions at
the company and before
joining the board was the
administrator delegate for
Sonangol Luanda Refinery.
She now supervises the
Department of Company
Security, Department
of Administration and
Infrastructure, Sonangol
Refining (Sonaref), Sonangol
Natural Gas (Sonagas),
MSTelcom, Generation
of Electrical Energy
(Luxerviza Limited), and the
Petrochemical Nucleus.
Born in Malange on May
22, 1966, Fernandes Gaspar
Bernardo Mateus has
been working at Sonangol
since May 2000. He has a
degree in Economics and
has performed a variety
of management roles at
Sonangol. Before joining
the board of Sonangol
EP, he was director of
Planning. He now oversees
the Departments of
Planning, Finances and Risk
Management, the Office
of Communication and
Image, Sonangol Finance
Limited, Sonangol Holdings
Limited and the Process
Management Unit.
Fernando Joaquim Roberto
was born on Gabela, Kwanza
Sul, on August 8, 1957 and
has been at the company
since April 1978. He has a
degree in Economics and
postgraduate degree in
Economy and Business
Management. He has
held several management
positions at Sonangol. In
2005 he was board president
of Sonangol Distribuidora.
He is responsible for
overseeing the Human
Resources Department,
Social Services Department,
Girassol Clinic, Sonangol
Academy, PUAÇA, the
Commission for Social
Projects at Soyo, the Paz Flor
Recreation Centre and the
Cajueiro Cooperative.
Mateus Sebastião Francisco
Neto was born at Dande,
Bengo province on July 3,
1955, and joined Sonangol
in June 1981. He holds a
degree in Aeronautical
Engineering and Air
Administration. He has
undertaken a variety of
management positions and
commissions at Sonangol
and has served on the board
of SonAir and some years
later the board of Angola
Airlines (TAAG). Before
becoming a Sonangol EP
board member, he was
president of the board of
Sonangol Logística.
Mr Neto supervises the
Centre for Entrepreneurial
Support, Sonangol Logística,
Sonangol Distribuidora,
Sonangol Industrial
Investment (SIIND),
Sonangol Integrated Logistic
Services (Sonils), ESSA,
Drilling and Basic Projects
and Logistic Installations.
Paulino Fernando Carvalho
Jerónimo was born in
Luanda on March 22, 1960,
and has been at Sonangol
since July 1985. He holds
a degree in Geophysical
Engineering from the
Superior Institute of Oil and
Gas at Baku, Azerbaijan.
He has held a number
of management positions
at Sonangol, and before
joining the board he
was the only manager of
Sonangol Hydrocarbons
Internacional. He oversees
the following activities at
Sonangol: Department of
Exploration, Department
of Production, Department
of Business, Department of
Economy of Concessions,
Department of the Control
Committee for Concessions,
the Archive Office and
Data Base, the Central
Laboratory, Supervision of
Pre-Salt and SonAir.
JUNE 2014 51
Angola’s 7 Natural Wonders
Kalandula waterfalls,
Malange
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Fenda Lgoeca, tHuíla
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Rio Chiumbe
waterfalls,
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Lunda Sul
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Lake C
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Lundaation
Norte
Nzenzo Grottos, Uíge
Tens of thousands of Angolans have voted to select
the most beautiful and stunning natural wonders of Angola.
Come and see for yourself these and many more.