Sonangol promises end to petrol queues in Luanda
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Mercado
Sonangol Distribuição e Comercialização says fuel stocks are sufficient to supply the Angolan market, after nearly two weeks of queues in Luanda. The subsidiary expects queues to gradually shorten in the coming hours and supplies to return to normal in affected areas, according to its statement.
Sonangol Distribuição e Comercialização, a subsidiary of Angola’s state-owned oil company Sonangol, attributes the long queues at petrol stations in Luanda, Huambo, Moxico, Cunene and Lunda Sul to the temporary concentration of shipments at a single dispatch point. In a statement issued on Thursday, the company said it had enough fuel to meet the needs of the national market.
Sonangol Distribuição e Comercialização expects queues to gradually shorten in the coming hours and supplies to return to normal in the affected areas. In Luanda, the petrol shortage began between 31 October and 1 November and was still affecting several neighbourhoods ten days later, according to Folha 8. Restrictions on quantities purchased and an informal market had notably emerged in some areas.
Supply difficulties come as Angola imports a large share of the fuel it consumes. Between July and September, 74% of the liquid fuels consumed in the country were imported, compared with 24.5% supplied by the Luanda refinery and 1.5% by the Cabinda unit, according to the Petroleum Derivatives Regulatory Institute (IRDP).
The statement comes after the petrol shortage persisted in Luanda, reported on 10 November petrol shortage continues in Luanda, with long queues.
