DMEA: Cabinda tests to begin in December

The developer of Angola’s Cabinda refinery said this week that the project is expected to be completed by the end of the year, with test runs due to begin in mid-December.

Speaking during a press conference last week, Marcus Weyll, director general of UK-based Gemcorp, said that his company is committed to commissioning the refinery’s first phase during Q4, and will swiftly move forward with work on the second and third phases. First crude test runs will begin in the first half of December, he added.

Weyll was speaking following a site visit by Angolan Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, while the presentation and visit were also attended by Secretary of State for Petroleum, José Barroso, the CEOs of Sonangol, Sebastião Martins, of the National Agency for Mineral Resources, Jacinto Rocha, and of the National Oil and Gas Agency, Paulino Gerónimo.

The Gemcorp representative said that at 30% complete, the physical works are behind schedule owing to supply chain and market volatility issues relating to the Covid-19.

This appears to have taken its toll on the cost of implementing the project, which Weyll quoted $400mn for phase one out of an overall estimate of $1bn covering the remaining two phases.