Luxury Fabulous High life MARCH 2010 in Luanda skyscrapers fossils found 100m years BC100m years Job done Botelho Angolan oil minister José ends his year de Vasconcelos at the as Opec president first ever Opec summit in Luanda Universo
SONANGOL UNIVERSO ISSUE 25 – MARCH 2010 SU25-cover:Layout 1 22/2/10 13:52 Page 1 Page 13:52 22/2/10 1 SU25-cover:Layout SU25.contents.pp2-3:SU25 23/2/10 10:19 Page 2
CONTENTS
16 6 26 Universo is the international magazine of Sonangol
Board Members Manuel Vicente (President), Anabela Fonseca, Mateus de Brito, Fernando Roberto, Francisco de Lemos
Sonangol Department for Communication & Image Director João Rosa Santos
Corporate Communications Assistants Letter from the editor Nadiejda Santos, Lúcio Santos, Cristina Novaes, José Mota, s we enter the second decade of the Beatriz Silva, Paula Almeida, new century it is worth looking at Sandra Teixeira, Marta Sousa how Angola has transformed over A Sarah Monaghan the past decade. The country has just Publisher
organized the two highest-profile events AFP/Getty Images 34 Sheila O’Callaghan that have ever taken place within its bor- Editor ders. Both are from different spheres, but 20 Alex Bellos together they show just how far the Art Director country has come. David Gould The first event to take place was the Sub Editor annual end-of-year summit of the Organi- Ron Gribble zation of the Petroleum Exporting Coun- Advertising Design tries (Opec), which was held in Luanda’s Bernd Wojtczack new Talatona Convention Center. Angola Circulation Manager was the venue because it held the Opec Matthew Alexander presidency in 2009, and the president tra- Project Consultants ditionally hosts the end-of-year summit. AFP/Getty Images Nathalie MacCarthy The second event was the Africa Cup Octávio Mateus Escom Mauro Perillo of Nations. The football tournament Group President required Angola to build four brand new 4 Angola news briefing 6 Rising again 16 A winning spectacle John Charles Gasser stadiums, open many hotels and upgrade International Monetary Fund A special report into the housing sec- The Africa Cup of Nations in Sonangol News its transport infrastructure. Even though approves $1.4 billion loan; tor in Luanda, which is growing again Angola was won by Egypt, while Universo is produced by Impact Media Custom Publishing. The views expressed in Angola was knocked out in the quarterfi- National Bank of Angola and after the slowdown in 2009. New the host nation put on an 32 Sonangol the publication are not necessarily those of nals, the country kept on cheering until Unitel study ways to enable bank buildings for high-end customers and amazing show news briefing Sonangol or the publishers. Reproduction in the final whistle blew. transactions via mobile phones; for the emerging middle classes are whole or in part without prior permission is But Angola’s newfound confidence President José Eduardo dos being built 20 Monsters of the deep 34 A day to remember prohibited. and aspiration can be seen not just by Santos addresses MPLA congress; Angola is a gold mine of prehistoric A report of the Opec This magazine is distributed to a closed looking at the stadiums or the new con- Yuri da Cunha becomes first 14 Homes for workers fossils, and even has a species end-of-year summit that circulation. To receive a free copy: vention centre: any visitor to Luanda can Angolan artist to sign contract The Sonangol co-operative Cajueiro is named after it: the Angolasaurus. took place in Luanda [email protected] see in the skyline a country that is looking with Sony; TAAG begins flights to building houses for its employees all We speak to the palaeontologists Circulation: 17,000 towards the future. We also have a report Cape Town and Havana; Angola over the country digging up the past 48 Oil for sale about the growing construction industry, plans science and technology An interview with Lucinda which is bringing homes to the people. museum; Standard Bank of South 26 In splendid isolation Guimarães Angola is unrecognisable from what it Africa to operate in Angola Universo travels to the beautiful was only ten years ago: it’s exciting to think islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, 50 The Big Picture 6 Snow Hill, how much further it will develop in the Angola’s closest cultural Three Angolan trees London EC1A 2AY 5 Figured out Tel + 44 20 7002 7778 years to come. A snapshot of Angola in neighbour, which is expanding Fax +44 20 7002 7779 numbers its tourism industry [email protected]
Cover: AFP/Getty Images Sonangol
2 SONANGOL UNIVERSO MARCH 2010 3 SU25.Angola News.pp4-5:SU25 22/2/10 15:32 Page 4
Figured Angola news briefing out
Call to account Global star President José Eduardo dos Santos has Popular singer Yuri da Cunha has become the called for “zero tolerance” on corruption in a first Angolan artist to sign a contract with 2000 bid to halt what he has called the “squander- Sony Music. The deal was sealed in Milan, number of jobs set to be created by ing of resources”. Speaking to members of Italy, and will last for six years. There are plans the Angola LNG project in Soyo the MPLA central committee just before the for a ‘Best of’ album, a possible collaboration party’s sixth congress, the president said the with Italian star Eros Ramazzotti and the party had been “timid” in holding things to international marketing of his music. Da account through the courts and parliament, Cunha’s third and most recent album Kuma $36 billion and that this had been “exploited by irre- Kua Kié featured music from a range of styles value of the Angolan government’s sponsible people and those of bad faith”. including semba, kizomba and zouk. 2010/11 budget Dos Santos was re-elected as president of dream-magazine.it the MPLA after winning the vote during the congress which was held in Luanda in Good science Angola is planning a science and December and attended by more than 2,000 technology museum for Luanda and party members. three technology parks in the provinces of Uíge, Huambo and Luanda. Maria Cândida Mobile banking Teixeira, the Minister of Science and Technol- ogy, said the idea was to invest in science The National Bank of Angola (BNA) is and research and boost the country’s aca- studying ways to work with mobile-phone per cent estimate for Angola’s GFP demic facilities: “We continue to strengthen 8.6 operator Unitel to allow people to make payments growth (global facilitation partnership ties with all the scientists of different research through their mobiles. There are plans for cus- for transportation and trade) in 2010 areas.” The plan puts an emphasis on educa- tomers to be able to access their bank accounts tion and training, she added, as well as sup- through their phones and make payments to The Boeing Company porting the public and private institutions of government organisations. António André Lopes, the various branches of scientific knowledge. administrator of BNA, said: “We hope that the More destinations 628,526 system of paying through a mobile phone will Angola’s national carrier TAAG has begun Now in Portuguese offer a greater convenience to the client.” direct flights to Cape Town in South Africa A Portuguese translation of the AFP/Getty Images and the Cuban capital Havana. It will fly tonnes 1971 book Angola, written by twice a week to Cape Town, the first direct amount of cement imported into Professor Douglas Wheeler of the Uni- service to the coastal city from Luanda. The Angola during the second quarter versity of New Hampshire, has just been IMF loan approved flights are likely to be popular with Angolans of 2009 published in Lisbon by Tinta-da-China. The International Monetary Fund has that addresses the macroeconomic and expats, especially those travelling to the The translation has new material includ- approved financial funding for Angola imbalances which emerged in the face World Cup in June. The Havana flight will ing an updated historical chronology, worth around $1.4 billion. The loan of the global economic crisis. The help transport the thousands of Cuban bibliographies and an essay outlining aims to help the country cope with the programme includes a determined teachers and doctors who are currently Angola’s history from 1971 to 2009. effects of the global economic crisis effort to restrain public expenditure, working in Angola and will be a useful link and the drop in liquidity, due largely to while providing adequate resources for for Angolan students who are attending New bank lower oil prices. The terms of the deal social spending and vital infrastructure universities in Cuba. Online tickets are now 7% Angola’s consumption of the total also include a reform agenda aimed at projects.” available from the airline’s new website – South Africa’s largest bank, Standard African beer market medium-term structural issues to foster In addition, the World Bank has www.taag.com – which also offers online Bank, is to begin operating in Angola in growth in the non-oil sector. opened a credit line worth $30 million check-in facilities and flight timetables. 2010. The bank, which has a representative Following approval of the arrange- to boost agriculture in Angola. The LAM of Mozambique has joined the office in Luanda, had been given the green ment with Angola, Takatoshi Kato, IMF financing will support 120,000 small growing list of international carriers serving light from the Council of Ministers to start deputy managing director, said: “The producers in the provinces of Bié, Angola with twice-weekly flights between business in the country. Clive Tasker, chief 1,500 Angolan authorities are to be com- Huambo and Malanje by giving them Luanda and Maputo. Kenya Airways and executive of Standard Bank Africa, said that number of foreign journalists who mended for their strong commitment to technical assistance to improve their Royal Air Maroc (RAM) have also expressed the firm planned to open a full service bank in applied for accreditation to cover a comprehensive reform programme yields and boost the rural economy. an interest in flying directly to Luanda. Angola with an emphasis on corporate and the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola Takatoshi Kato investment banking. Getty Images
4 SONANGOL UNIVERSO MARCH 2010 5 SU25.Property.pp6-15:SU25 23/2/10 10:27 Page 6
PROPERTY RISING
AGAINAfter the boom of 2008 came the slowdown in 2009. But in 2010 the construction industry is back on track. Homes are being built across Angola for those on high, middle and low incomes ➔
Sunset strip: an artist’s impression of Luanda’s bay from the Sky Center
Condominium Escom
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PROPERTY
rom his office in Luanda’s tallest Viewpoint: Pontes on the Tall order: the ESCOM building, José Walter Pontes’ view roof of the ESCOM building building is, at 102m, Facross the city centre is spectacular. the highest in Luanda Inside, it is also pretty amazing: his ultra- modern, window-lined office is furnished with black, white and chrome fittings. “With this building we wanted to bring First World quality to Luanda,” said Pontes, general manager of ESCOM Imobiliária, the company that built the 102m-high ESCOM building. “I started with this project from the very bottom and now it is finished I am privileged to be here on the 16th floor.” At the very top, the building has smart penthouses. In the middle there are offices and at ground level a dramatic entrance area with floor-to-ceiling modern art and a cluster of boutique shops. It has already become a landmark on Luanda’s skyline and is the first of a total of four towers which will eventually make up the Sky Center Condominium. But it is not just luxury building that Angola is seeing. Construction of homes for middle and low-income families is also tak- ing place all over the country, including a Sonangol project that has built more than 3,000 houses (see p14). The Sky Center Condominuim, how- ever, is the most visible of all the projects. One of its towers, Sky Residence I, will have 76 apartments, three penthouses, under- ground parking, a shopping area, a swim- ming pool, squash courts and a gym.
Another tower, Sky Residence II, will have Kamene M Traça 22 floors and 62 apartments. Sky Business Fantastic four: The Sky Center (20 floors of office space) will be part of the Condominium will eventually same building linked by an underground look like this shopping mall, a food court and a parking area. Squeeze With many of these apartments on the market at over $1 million they are certainly not run-of-th- mill purchases. Yet, accord- ing to Pontes, 25 per cent of Sky Residence has already been sold before a single brick has been laid. In addition, all of the Sky Business offices have been leased, he said, proving that despite the financial slowdown of 2009 there is still plenty of life in the Angolan economy. Pontes said this with relief since it has Kamene M Traça been a tough ride for Angola over the Escom
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PROPERTY
Riviera Atlântico, a condominium in Luanda Sul built by Odebrecht Odebrecht Catalog/Database
past year following the fall in oil prices, a In a bid to meet this demand, ESCOM developers to build further outside of tumble in international foreign reserves has just signed a deal with Mota-Engil and Luanda because people want and need that and a subsequent squeeze on the US dollar. Fundação Lar do Patriota for a $1.5 billion space which we don’t have in the centre.” After initial GDP growth predictions for development covering 80 hectares in the Working on a smaller scale but in a 2009 of 11.8 per cent, Angola grew by only south of Luanda providing affordable similar vein is Brazilian construction giant 1.3 per cent, a sharp decline on the previ- family homes. The location is key to decen- Odebrecht – the company behind many of ous four years of double-digit growth. tralising Luanda, which is overcrowded and the new gated condominiums which have As well as less money being available under-resourced. sprung up in Talatona in recent years but in the state coffers, a number of the are out of reach of many Angolans. construction projects which began in 2008 New roads Odebrecht’s Monte Belo development has suddenly seemed more ambitious than “We are trying to decentralise,” said Pontes. been part funded by Chevron’s Angolan ever. “Without doubt there were some “We have good new roads now around the operating arm, Cabinda Gulf Oil Company, difficulties during 2009 as we saw a retrac- city, especially the route which goes from and will have 100 homes for employees. tion of international money and a Benfica to Cacuaco. This is encouraging An Odebrecht spokeswoman said slowdown within the Angolan market,” said Pontes. “We believe that the first quarter of The Torres Atlântico on 2010 will start to be more favourable to the the Marginal has office property market.” and residential space With the upmarket apartments covered by projects such as the Sky Center, and the Torres Atlântico, which opened in December, Pontes said that there had been a shift in priority towards affordable family homes for the country’s emerging middle We believe that the first quarter of 2010 will start to be class. The giant advertising billboards around Luanda are still advertising prop- more favourable to the property market erty, but the focus has moved from luxury José Walter Pontes to family living. Now, the new targets for construction companies are Angolans who are well-edu- cated and earning decent salaries “ but are crammed into tiny city-centre Vito Palmisano ” apartments. Kamene M Traça 10 SONANGOL UNIVERSO MARCH 2010 11 SU25.Property.pp6-15:SU25 23/2/10 10:27 Page 12
PROPERTY
The government may even succeed in building more than one million homes by 2012 because the current rate
of construction is going so well José Ferreira, Minister of Urbanisation and Housing
“that there were plans to develop partner- regulation of the housing market and tom of the property sector with those at the ships with more oil companies and banks prices, in part through a reduction in the top is the battle against the high cost of to help facilitate loans for workers to be cost of construction materials, and there construction materials. Importing these able to afford their own houses. was talk of creating a fund to help low-in- items pushes up costs and adds time to come families get on the property ladder. construction projects. Affordable housing A number of public-private” partner- New cement factories are starting to The private companies are not working on ships has been started and building has open and, in time, this will reduce the cost this alone – providing affordable housing is begun in many parts of the country. In De- of imports which come mostly from China. central to the government’s national plan. cember, José Ferreira, Minister of Urbani- The government has also announced that President José Eduardo dos Santos pledged sation and Housing, told local media: “The construction materials imported into the during the run-up to the 2008 legislative government may even succeed in building country for social housing projects are to be elections to build one million homes by more than one million homes by 2012 be- exempt from customs duties. 2012. cause the current rate of construction is He repeated this promise last year at going so well.” Good future the first national housing conference and He said that the first homes under the As well as basic construction materials, said the country’s housing problem was scheme could be handed over in the first there are also plans to import self-build one of its biggest. The president said too quarter of 2010 and that 89,000 hectares of home-construction kits for people to buy many people were living in “a chaotic and land had already been allocated for low- for a one-off price and then build a house disorganised way without the necessary cost housing schemes. This strategy is themselves once they have secured a plot The condominium, Atlântico Sul, (this picture infrastructures. This is a very serious prob- working hand-in-hand with the govern- of land. Allocation of land plots is under and below), offers luxury living in south Luanda lem and in the long term could lead to ment’s long-term plans to “requalify” large way in big cities and an effort is being made social instability.” swathes of Luanda which have degenerated to organise what has previously been an Establishing the National Homes into slums due to overcrowding. unregulated system. Commission, dos Santos called for greater One thing that unites those at the bot- As the cement begins to set in Angola’s property market, economically the next 12 Monte Belo months look to be steadier for the country too. This is partly thanks to oil prices being back at around the $70 a barrel mark, but the situation has also been boosted by a $1.4 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. This will help resolve the country’s liquidity problems and, in the longer term, stabilise the kwanza. The shock to the economy caused by the fall in oil prices triggered the govern- ment to channel more investment into the non-oil sector. As well as reducing depend- ence on oil, this investment into agriculture and industry should eventually reduce the need for imports and bring down costs. With so many people still in need of quality housing and with so much space in which to build, Angola’s property market looks to have a good future, and in many ways remains central to the country’s
Pictures: Odebrecht Catalog/Database development.
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PROPERTY PROPERTY Luanda HOMES FOR WORKERS ajueiro is a Sonangol co-operative that has already built over 3,000 houses for employees working for Sonangol and the Ministry of Oil. C“It is the biggest social project in Angola,” said Carlos da Cunha, Cajueiro’s president. Cajueiro was created in 2000 in order to enable oil-industry workers to have their own homes, which were out of reach on the open market because of the high cost of real estate in Angola. The co-op buys pieces of land and builds condominiums. Lobito The apartments are then sold to Cajueiro members at building cost only. Sonangol employees receive another discount of 40 per cent of the price of their homes from their employer. Cajueiro members are also allowed to pay for their apartments over a period of ten years. Subscription Any employee of either Sonangol or the oil ministry may apply to join Cajueiro. Once accepted, they pay a subscription fee for two years of $50 to $200 a month, depending on the house they are applying for. After this period, the members are put on a waiting list. As soon as a house is available, the member buys it, and the subscription fee is deducted from the sale price. “We have members interested in the top-quality houses, but we build more low-category to middle-category houses,” said da Cunha. The co-op does not get any money from the state, but it is helped by the local authori- ties, which sometimes donate pieces of land. “It is very helpful to us and it is great for their towns as well: not only do we build houses, we also build roads.” Most of the houses that are already occupied are situated in Luanda, but there are also 121 inhabited houses in Soyo, about 100 in Lobito and another 61 in Namibe. By 2012, there should be settlements in Malanje, Lubango and Porto Amboim, and Cabinda. In Luanda, there are three price ranges, depending on the type of house and the area. The current value of a 90 sq m low- category house with a yard in the popular area of Viana, in the Cajueiro Velho condominium, which was bought for $17,500 at the beginning of the project, would now be worth about $200,000 on the open market. Ana Maria, a Sonangol employee, has been living in the Gepa condominium situated in Samba, in Luanda’s southern suburban zone, since 2002. She bought a three-bedroom house, with two bathrooms, for $37,000. “We always have water, and power as well, thanks to the generators. And it is safe, of course.” iStockphoto Sonangol
14 SONANGOL UNIVERSO MARCH 2010 15 SU25.CAN.pp16-19:SU25 22/2/10 15:33 Page 16
CUP OF NATIONS
Cracker: Fireworks light up the sky during the opening ceremony A WINNING SPECTACLE A football frenzy of singing, dancing, fireworks and hugging each other with joy was how Angolans celebrated their successful hosting of the Africa Cup of Nations
t was four years in the preparation and expectations were extremely high, but IAngola’s Africa Cup of Nations did not disappoint and was a true Festa de Futebol. Even though Egypt may have won the title – beating Ghana in the final 1-0 to lift their third Cup of Nations trophy in a row – for many Angola was the true winner for hosting such a successful tournament. The competition began with a spectac- ular opening ceremony of fireworks, music and dancing played out to a full capacity crowd of 50,000 at Luanda’s modern 11th of November super stadium. The opening game also proved to be a worthy spectacle, AFP/Getty Images although it was less than pleasing for Angolan fans who saw their 4-0 lead over All pictures: Mali frittered away in the final 11 minutes Hat trick: The Egyptian team to 4-4. celebrates winning the final 1-0 against Ghana, their third Victory successive Cup victory A few days later, a decisive 2-0 victory against Malawi propelled the Palancas Negras, as the Angolan team is known, to the top of their group and triggered unprecedented scenes of partying as thou- sands ran out into the streets screaming and cheering, jumping on cars and taxis and hugging each other with joy. Even more red, black and gold Angolan flags were tied to cars and balconies as the whole country got caught up in a football frenzy, making as much noise as possible with plastic trumpets and whistles. Else- Horn of Africa: Palanquinha, or Little where, at the other three stadiums in Antelope, was the Benguela, Cabinda and Lubango, some tournament mascot unexpected results in the group stages
16 SONANGOL UNIVERSO MARCH 2010 17 SU25.CAN.pp16-19:SU25 22/2/10 15:33 Page 18
– including Gabon beating Cameroon, and quarterfinals. At the end of the day, the only Flec leaders live in exile, to bring the perpe- Michael Essien, Stephen Appiah and Sulley worker José Rodrigues, 45, told Universo. nessman who runs Trevgol tour company, Ivory Coast drawing with Burkina Faso – difference between us and them was that trators to justice. Muntari – and fielded eight of last year’s “It has also been useful and beautiful said: “I don’t have any doubt whatsoever kept people on the edges of their seats and they scored – we did not.” Condemning the attack in his speech at under-20 World Cup-winning side. for our football and it will help develop our that the results on Angola’s economy are made for an interesting quarter final round the opening ceremony, President José future players,” he said. “We may have lost positive from the point of view of the infra- of Angola v Ghana, Ivory Coast v Algeria, Gusto Eduardo dos Santos called for the games to Dramatic this time, but in the next two years we will structures that we have gained, not just the Egypt v Cameroon and Zambia v Nigeria. But despite Angola being out, there was continue in Cabinda – and Angolans The final, like the opening match, was do better.” four stadiums built from scratch, but also Cameroon and Ivory Coast – the teams plenty of quality football still to be played. showed their natural resilience by looking played to a full house at the stadium in As well as the four new super stadiums the other stadiums which were rehabili- with the most stars from European and Pre- The government appealed to the Angolan forward, enjoying the football and not Luanda and it was followed by a dramatic in Luanda, Benguela, Cabinda and tated.” miership clubs – were the surprise losers, people to pick themselves up and get allowing the shooting to detract from the and colourful closing ceremony with music, Lubango, which cost $600 million, a further He admitted that due to high prices not along with Angola, who could not find the behind the remaining teams, which they tournament. acrobatics and fireworks. The gold Cup of $400 million was spent on rebuilding as many tourists as had been hoped had back of the net during their quarterfinal and did with gusto, almost filling the stadiums Egypt, despite coming to the tourna- Nations trophy was flown onto the pitch by airports, laying new roads and upgrading made it to Angola, but he said that the went out to a young but feisty Ghanaian and creating lively atmospheres for the ment off the back of being knocked out of a jet-propelled rocket man in a silver space hospitals. Thanks to the Cup of Nations, investment made now will pay off in the side which beat them 1-0. semifinals and finals. this year’s World Cup by regional rival suit, and President dos Santos presented Angola also now has a host of new hotels, a longer term. An increase in supply means The Palancas Negras defeat plunged The January 8 attack in Cabinda, which Algeria, looked strong from the start and the winning team with their medals. private taxi system and a reinforced hotel prices will eventually come down and the country into a 24-hour depression, and killed two members of the Togolese football won all their games convincingly, only The scenes of jubilation among the telecommunications network. make the country more attractive. “It’s like the tears running down the faces of the delegation, cast a shadow over the start of conceding two goals. Egyptian players and their fans were shared Cândido Carneiro, a Luandan busi- a snowball effect,” he said. players as they left the stadium to face the the tournament and elicited unwanted The Egypt v Ghana final was not the by the Angolan organisers, the tens of glare of the world’s media summed up how headlines around the world for Angola. A most action-packed game of football, but thousands of staff and volunteers who Clockwise from left: Angola’s Flávio reacts during the quarterfinal match between Angola and everyone felt. splinter group of the guerrilla organisation one goal was all Egypt needed to seal their made the tournament happen, and the An- Ghana; an Angolan fan holds up a banner for Haiti; Samuel Eto’o and Mohamadou Idrissou of Captain Kali, who came close to equal- Flec (Front for the Liberation of the Enclave glory and win the trophy for a record golan people. “It’s been like a party for our Cameroon celebrate after scoring a goal against Zambia during their group stage match; Burkina ising in the second-half injury time, told re- of Cabinda) claimed responsibility for the seventh time. country. It’s the first time that we organised Faso fan watches the match between Ghana and Burkina Faso; Egyptian players celebrate with the porters after the game: “We wanted to shooting, and now the Angolan government Ghana did well to be runners up since a championship like this and it has made trophy during the award ceremony after beating Ghana; Egyptian fans cheer for their national team in the Ombaka stadium in Benguela win so badly. It was good to be in the is working with France, where a number of they were missing their three best players – the Angolan people very happy,” insurance
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DINOSAURS
Head in the sand: the skull of MONSTERS an Angolasaurus OF THE DEEP The marine reptile Angolasaurus is just one of the many prehistoric species found in Angola ➔ Hillsman S. Jackson
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DINOSAURS
ngola, like many African countries, has an abundance Rui Castanhinha of of natural resources. But as well as its oil, diamonds, the New University Airon ore and copper, Angola is also rich in fossils. According of Lisbon to researchers, it is “a museum in the ground” waiting to be explored. Angola’s fossil wealth was first noticed by the Portuguese in the 1960s but only now are palaeontologists making remarkable discoveries. Dr Octávio Mateus of the New University of Lisbon is full of enthusiasm for Angola’s underground potential. “Angola is just amazing for fossils,” he said. “We have found a lot of places which are the best in the world in terms of fossils, and we keep finding new fossilised animals so it’s very exciting. Angola is a museum in the ground with lots t o be seen.” Dr Mateus is a lead member of PaleoAngola, a group of researchers from Portugal, Angola, the United States and the Netherlands, who have been digging for fossils in Angola. PaleoAn- gola senior team member Dr Louis Jacobs of Dallas’ Southern Methodist University describes Angola as the “final frontier for palaeontology”. “Due to the war, there has been little research carried out so far, but now we are getting in finally and there is so much to find,” he said. “In some areas there are literally fossils sticking out of the rocks.” Wiped out The team’s biggest find was in 2005 when Dr Mateus uncovered five Anne Schulp Dr Octávio Mateus bones from the front left leg of a sauropod dinosaur on the coast in Bengo province, just north of Luanda. Since then, the majority of the skulls and skeletons uncovered by the team, which has focused on coastal areas in Namibe and Bengo provinces, has been from turtles, sharks, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs. Plesiosaurs and mosasaurs – of which the Angolasaurus is a species – are marine reptiles that lived at the same time as dinosaurs, which are believed to have been wiped out when an asteroid hit Earth 65 million years ago. The PaleoAngola team is planning to return to Angola this July and continue to focus on the coast, but with a view to going further back to the Triassic period, 200 million years ago. Dr Mateus said: “There have been a number of fish found
We have found places which are the best in the world in terms of fossils, and “we keep finding new animals, so it’s very exciting. Angola is a museum in the ground with lots to be seen Anne Schulp Octávio Mateus Dr Octávio Mateus, of the New University of Lisbon 22 SONANGOL UNIVERSO ” MARCH 2010 23 SU25.Dinosaurs.pp20-25:SU25 23/2/10 10:21 Page 24
DINOSAURS
Artist’s impression of a larger plesiosaur catching a small one. The plesiosaurs were marine Oil and dinosaurs – a connection? reptiles that lived contemporane- The abundance of fossils continent at the time. Octávio Mateus ously to the dinosaurs, who lived in Angola, particularly Oil and gas were and Mike Polcyn on land. Plesiosaur fossils have been discovered in Angola those of large ocean- formed over millions of based predators, demon- years by the decay of Image: Natural History Museum, University of Oslo/Handout/Reuters/Corbis strates that the sea along organic material and in- the ancient coast of An- creases in pressure and gola was productive 90-95 temperature through million years ago when compression of layer the creatures were alive. upon layer of sediment. Angolan waters are Being able to track also productive today, regions of high organic with the Benguela current productivity in areas sweeping cold nutrient- where dinosaurs and enriched waters up the mosasaurs once lived, west coast of Africa from and the geological con- the southern Atlantic. text of the fossils found, However, the Benguela helps geologists under- current is only about six stand the ancient oceans’ million years old. The ex- currents and the move- planation for the produc- ment of continents. tivity of the waters when This in turn gives clues the fossils were alive lies to the history of petro- in the Earth’s climatic leum-source rocks, where zones and the geographic we can today drill to find position of the African crude oil and gas.
from this period, but so far no vertebrates or dinosaurs. The fish Geographic Society, the Petroleum Research Fund, the Southern that have been discovered were seen by geologists who were map- Methodist University, the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Luanda ping the area for minerals and they weren’t so interested in the fos- and Portugal’s national airline TAP, but Dr Mateus said more spon- sils and didn’t study them very much. sorship was the key to secure future research. “What we want to do is revisit the areas where the geologists have been, but with a palaeontologist’s eye, to see what the fossils Tourist attraction can tell us. We don’t know if we will find anything or not, but “We’re looking forward to our trip in July very much, but it does Angola keeps surprising us so we hope it stays that way.” depend to some extent on what funding we can get,” he said. “Dr Much of Angola’s fossil richness is down to a series of Jacobs has applied to the National Science Foundation in the US latitude shifts tens of millions of years ago which saw the land and if we get that it will be awesome, so we’re keeping our fingers move through desert and tropical zones. Today, the country crossed because if that doesn’t come through it could all be a bit remains tropical in the north at its border with the Democratic tricky.” Republic of Congo and arid desert in the south where it meets As well as looking into Angola’s past, the PaleoAngola project Namibia. is also looking forward with a view to developing Angolan scien- Part of the drive for recovering fossils is to find out more about tists and academic institutions, and it is working in collaboration continental shifts and to try to get a more exact date of when South with Agostinho Neto University in Luanda and the Private Univer- America split from Africa and the southern Atlantic was formed. sity of Angola in Lubango. “Fossils can date how animals migrated from one place to an- Dr Jacobs, who in the past headed Kenya’s National Palaeon- other and how continents moved through time,” said Dr Mateus. tology Museum, said: “The idea, as well as to do this research, is to “From fossils we can work out when terrestrial animals were no train Angolan scientists so that they can run their show. Angolans longer able to cross from Africa to South America and when should be able to use their own unique resources in museums to marine animals were.” teach future generations about their country and the world. Every- As vital as this research is to discovering more about our body likes dinosaurs and, in the long-term, this could become a world and how and when things happened, finding money to tourist attraction.” fund the studies is not easy. A month’s field expedition with a Dr Mateus added: “We want to do this work with the transit through the capital Luanda can run into tens of thousands Angolans, for the Angolans. This project is only successful if the of dollars. Angolans are applied and engaged as well. That’s a very important So far, PaeloAngola has found support from the National point for us.”
24 SONANGOL UNIVERSO MARCH 2010 25 SU25.Soa Tome.pp26-31:SU25 23/2/10 10:30 Page 26
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE
IN SPLENDID ISOLATION Angola’s closest cultural ties are with the tiny archipelago of São Tomé and Príncipe, which is now becoming a paradise for tourists. Sarah Monaghan reports ➔ Pictures: Sarah Monaghan
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SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE
am in a fairytale scene. Abandoned colonial buildings surround me, the The Angolan connection jungle having wreathed its way around I Roça Agostinho Neto them like Mayan temples. A banana tree has invaded the hall of the casa do patrão (the master’s house) and lianas are clam- bering across its peeling ceilings. Is Sleep- ing Beauty lying upstairs? A shutter flaps in the wind. I climb a marble staircase. From a balustrade bal- cony onto which the sun spills comes the reflected sparkle of turquoise waters and the view of a palm-fringed beach below. The chlorophyll green of the jungle leading down to the shore is lit by the hot orange of flame trees and the flash of a yellow- breasted sunbird. Time seems to have stopped on Príncipe. I am part of a living history lesson. This plantation, Roça Sundi, encircled by terms, at the centre of the world – the clos- bay where the first Portuguese ships landed turreted walls, was once the island’s biggest est land mass to the point in the Atlantic in 1470. Along the coast, the prettiest cocoa estate and a former home to the Por- where the imaginary line of the equator beaches dotted by fishermen’s shacks are tuguese royal family. In its grounds a rust- crosses the zero meridian. Older geologi- earmarked for holiday developments. ing steam locomotive still sits on corroded cally than the Galapagos Islands, they are On Príncipe, I base myself at Bom Bom tracks. Until 40 or so years ago, it would so isolated that many plant and bird Island Resort. Pagoda-style bungalows sit have carried fresh cocoa beans through the species are endemic. on a shoreline overhung by coconut palms. jungle to the coast for export to Lisbon. Each evening I cross a long wooden pier, It is little wonder that São Tomé and Slaves through which the waves splash, to a Príncipe give a sense of being a tear in the Carlito is my guide. He, like many islanders, forested islet and a simple restaurant where fabric of time. Positioned off the West Coast speaks Lung’iye, a Creole tongue, as well as tables are decorated with tropical flowers. Angola’s historical, economic and cul- A distinct socio-cultural group of of Africa, the islands are, in geographical Portuguese. His ancestors came from Cape The other guests are a group of tural links with São Tomé and Príncipe several thousand, they speak their own Verde and were part of the import of thou- Portuguese, an Englishman and his grand- are so strong that they even feature on language, N’gola. For centuries, mys- sands of slaves brought in by the Por- son here for the excellent sports fishing, the back of the 5,000-dobra note, which tery surrounded the question of how the tuguese from the 15th century onwards and two adventurous tourists from Paris, depicts São Tomé’s most impressive Angolares came to be on the island. from its African colonies. Toiling a six-day Oscar and Ludwig, who have spent the past plantation, Roça Agostinho Neto. Origi- Legend tells that the Angolares are the week, with only the songs of their home- week trekking on São Tomé, staying in re- nally named Rio do Ouro, it was re- descendents of a slave ship from land to break the monotony, their efforts stored roças, the old feudal plantations. named Agostinho Neto in 1979 after the Angola shipwrecked here, whose Rei first Angolan president and poet (1922- Amador led the most successful slave meant that by the early 20th century the is- It is so delightful here that it would be 79) to celebrate the political, military uprising in 1595. He remains a national lands had become one of the world’s largest easy to simply sit on my veranda with a and financial help his government gave hero and is very important to the Ango- cocoa producers. Carlito’s father was still novel, watching fallen coconuts wash in to the young republic. His bust still lares and Santomean identity. The working for a Portuguese plantation owner and out, and that is exactly what I do on my greets visitors on arrival at the roça, Angolares’ Creole culture remains alive in 1975 when independence was declared. first day. The next day, I go scuba diving. where there are plans to convert the for- in language and rituals, in bulaué music Today, oil exploration has begun off- The volcanic ocean floor and the mix of mer hospital building into a university and the work of local artists. The dra- shore, and tourism and investment are equatorial currents make for a fantastic campus for the island. matic works of Fernando de Macedo bringing a new optimism. Cocoa and coffee underwater show of fan corals, turtles, Historically, Angola’s most significant (1927-2006) focus on Angolar history production is restarting and many of the barracuda and rays. role in the history of São Tomé and giving voice to this history of San- old plantation houses are being restored Oscar, Ludwig and I set off on quad Príncipe is perhaps found at the fishing tomean society. Macedo, a Portuguese as rural hotels, attracting adventurous trav- bikes the following day. We rumble past town of São João dos Angolares in the writer who styled himself as a descen- east of São Tomé. The Angolares, a fish- dant of the last Angolan king, cele- ellers keen to trek the rainforests, lounge on clapboard houses painted tropical ing people populating the coastal brates the landscape and the force of the deserted beaches and explore the turquoise, fuchsia or yellow. Their stretches from Santa Catarina in the tradition on the island. You can impress crumbling colonial splendour. residents wave and call a welcome good west down to Ilhéu das Rolas in the the locals here with a few words of their In the capital city, São Tomé, a Por- morning: “Bom dia!” We reach Roça Belo south, have fascinated the local imagi- N’gola. language: Ma vira-ó? Everything tuguese chain has just opened a five-star Monte, another example of tumbledown nation for a long time. ok? N’ sabóa! Everything is fine! hotel complete with infinity pool over the splendour high on a hill. “It’s gorgeous. I
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SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE
His Impressionistic work of exu- How to get there
berant colours and local scenes Sarah Monaghan travelled to São Tomé and Príncipe with Africa’s Eden sells for high prices in Lisbon and is on (www.africas-eden.com). Activities depend on the season and include display at the city’s Teia D’@rte Gallery guided island-exploration tours, “ plantation visits, trekking, birdwatch- ing, whale watching, sea turtle night want to buy this house and restore it to a tomean cuisine at Roça São João. viewing, quad biking, sports fishing, boutique hotel,” sighs Oscar. He is too late. This restored roça is the perfect exam- kayaking, snorkelling and diving. A Portuguese company has had the same ple of a successful rural ecotourism ven- idea… ture. Run by celebrity chef João Carlos Silva, From Europe: You can travel to São whose TV series On the Plantation with Tomé and Príncipe directly from Footprint Moustaches has been hugely popular” in Lisbon with TAP or via Gabon with The sun has come out. Below is Praia Ba- Africa, it has six simple but elegant guest Air France, Gabon Airlines, Royal Air nana, a curve of white sand with gin-clear bedrooms with views over the forest down Maroc or Lufthansa, with a connect- water that was once the setting for a Bac- to the fishing village of São João dos Ango- ing flight to São Tomé (one hour from Libreville) with the Equatorial ardi rum commercial. There’s not a single lares. Guinean airline CEIBA on Mondays other footprint in the sand on this picture- Spices and Fridays. Africa’s Eden’s own perfect beach. We run to dive into the sea. airline Africa’s Connection connects It is a 40-minute hop in a propeller The six-course tasting lunch uses spices São Tomé with Príncipe. plane across the 150km of ocean that that echo a heritage stretching from divides Príncipe from São Tomé and its ‘in- Mozambique to Angola and to Cape Verde. From Angola: STP Airways flies each ternational’ airport – grass grows between I savour rice fish balls with saffron and co- Wednesday to and from Luanda; the cracks on the runway and goats and riander; grilled tuna with vanilla seeds; The Angolan airline TAAG flies twice hens roam outside. Two hulking rusting omelette de micoco, a thyme-like herb, and a week, Sunday and Friday. 1950s propeller planes sit on a slipway. the national dish calulú, a stew made from In São Tomé’s tiny capital I wander the smoked chicken and fresh herbs. The local currency is the Santomean dobra ($) although euros are widely streets, making small talk with money- On my last evening at Café e Compa- accepted. Portuguese is the lingua changers with battered briefcases, and ad- nhia, a bar where tables spill into the street, franca; French is also widely spoken, miring colonial-style buildings with ornate I meet a young Santomean painter, Kwame and some English. wooden balconies that would not look out Sousa. His Impressionistic work of exuber- of place in Havana. Overlooking it all is the ant colours and local scenes sells for high lumbering white fortress of São Sebastião, prices in Lisbon and is on display at the Equatorial built by the Portuguese in 1576 and now the city’s Teia D’@rte Gallery that exhibits work Guinea national museum. The curator moves a by native artists and those from former stone trap door. Rebellious plantation Portuguese colonies. Libreville workers used to be placed in the dungeon “Life is so real here and the colours are beneath and dealt with by the tide. so unreal,” enthuses Kwame. In recent Gabon Swarming the capital’s main square are years, he says, the islands have become an Congo saffron-yellow taxis alongside a raucous artistic mecca. To prove the point, he in- DRC market where women sit with pyramids of vites me to a street party near the gallery limes, tomatoes and chillies, or piles of where we see more innovative work on spiny breadfruit and pockmarked jack- show and where a kizomba band plays a São Tomé Luanda fruits. Others have enamel bowls, balanced sensual but stomping rhythm that has its and Príncipe on their heads, from which poke the jagged roots in the music’s Angolan heritage. tails of peixe voador (flying fish). I leave São Tomé and Príncipe in a blur Angola Three hundred and sixty degrees of of colour: from the bright yellows and pur- ocean mean that fish is always on the menu ples of cocoa pods; to the pink of the porce- and during my stay I eat plenty, from shar- lain-like rose endemic to the isles; to the ing a simple meal of grilled fish and bread- cobalt waters that shine through the palm fruit with fishermen over a beach fire to an trees, this is a dazzling country that offers a
elaborate tasting menu of traditional San- very warm welcome. Google Maps
30 SONANGOL UNIVERSO MARCH 2010 31 SU25.Sonangol News.pp32-33:SU24 23/2/10 10:31 Page 32
Sonangol news briefing NEWS
onangol celebrated its 34th anniversary on Sonangol overseas SFebruary 25 and, to mark iStockphoto.com the occasion, chairman Manuel Vicente gave his annual media iStockphoto.com
conference and an update on Song Shi Jing/Redlink/Corbis the company’s performance and plans for 2010. Last year was an important milestone for the Angolan oil industry. Angola held the
rotating presidency of the Iraq ➔ Organization of Petroleum Sonangol has won deals to develop two oilfields in northern Iraq. The Qayara Exporting Countries (Opec) and Najmah fields are said to have in 2009 and hosted the annual reserves of over 1 billion barrels of oil. end-of-year summit in Decem- Sonangol signed the exploration agree- ber. The decision of the summit ment during a bidding auction held in December in Baghdad. The company is to maintain production levels likely to work in partnership with for- has helped keep the price of oil eign companies to explore the reserves. stable, and we devote 14 pages ➔
India ➔ ship gas company, was among the dele- Ecuador to the event in this section. Healthy outlook Sonangol has signed a memorandum of gation. He said discussions had been Angola has signed a letter of intent with This year promises to be Esso Angola has pledged to spend $3.5 communities across Angola benefit as understanding with India’s Oil and Nat- held on Indian investment in liquefied Ecuador to help explore and produce oil very exciting for Sonangol with million on social programmes and com- well,” said Jim Seale, general director of ural Gas Corp (ONGC) with a view to natural gas projects in Angola. “We have and gas. The agreement was signed in boosting co-operation between the two talked about sourcing LNG from the Quito by Angolan oil minister José developments on several fronts. munity investments in the country dur- Esso Angola, a subsidiary of US giant ing 2010. The money will be channelled ExxonMobil. Since 2000, the ExxonMobil companies. ONGC chairman R.S. project which is due to start commis- Botelho de Vasconcelos and his counter- As we report here, the company through non-governmental organisa- Foundation has invested more than $23 Sharma said that the document “will sioning in December 2012, and also part Germánico Pinto. Sonangol will has won the contracts to tions focusing on public health and edu- million in social, education and health show the co-operation between the two about the possibility of participating in a partner with Ecuador’s state oil com- develop two oilfields in Iraq. cation. “These programmes help to community initiatives. Esso Angola has companies to work together in the second LNG project as a promoter and pany Petroecuador to develop projects prevent illnesses, reduce poverty and been operating in Block 15 Angola since future for exploration activities in An- taking equity,” he told reporters. in the country’s Amazon region. Also, Angola has signed oil stimulate the economic development, 1994 and is the largest producer of oil in gola. We have also agreed that the two co-operation documents which in turn means more people and the country. companies can work together for co-op- with Ecuador, which holds eration in third-world countries and also in India.” the current Opec presidency, China date Safety first Earlier, India’s Minister for Petro- and India. Sonangol will be putting Angola on the José Botelho de Vasconcelos, Angola’s leum Murli Deora met his Angolan On the home front, Sonan- world map when it takes part in Expo Minister for Oil, has called for more control counterpart José Botelho de Vasconce- los to discuss the deepening of ties in gol’s birthday programme of Shanghai 2010 from May 1 to October 31 in to improve the safety of oil workers and protect China. More than 70 million people are ex- the natural environment. Addressing a seminar the overall energy sector. Travelling with activities for its 9,000-plus pected to visit the event which has the on regulation within the industry, the minister Deora, who was also visiting Sudan, employees and their families theme ‘Better City, Better Life’, based on im- said it was important to make sure all oil Nigeria and Uganda, were several key included sports events and a proving urban environments. There will be 12 companies were operating within the rules. He Indian energy companies, among them pavilions on the site which covers a total said the oil ministry would be working to ensure Gail (India) Ltd and Indian Oil Corp. celebratory lunch. area of 5.28 sq km and spans both sides of all industry activity was adequately checked and Shri B.C. Tripathi, chairman and the Huangpu River. regulated. managing director of Gail, India’s flag-
➔ iStockphoto.com
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NEWS ADAY TO REMEMBER Angola’s first ever Opec summit, to mark the end of its inaugural year holding the presidency, was heralded as a great success ➔ AFP/Getty Images
Opec family photo, taken in Luanda on December 22, 2009: Dr Rilwanu Lukman, the Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources; Bernard Mommer, Resources; Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, Qatarian Minister of Energy and Industry; José Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, Angolan Minister of Petroleum and President Venezuela’s Governor to Opec; Ms Nawal Al-Fuzaia, Kuwait’s Governor for Opec; Abdullah El-Badri, Opec General Secretary; Mohammad bin Dhaen of Opec; Paulo Kassoma, Angolan Prime Minister; Chakib Khelil, Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines; Hussain Al-Shahristani, Iraqi Minister of Oil; Al-Husayn Mirza, al-Hamli, the UAE's Minister of Energy; Shokri Ghanem, the Libyan Chairman of NOC; Ali al-Naimi, Saudi Arabian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Bahrain’s Minister of Oil; Khatibi Tabatabai, Iran’s Governor for Opec; and Germánico Alfredo Pinto Troya, Ecuadoran Minister of Mines and Petroleum
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NEWS
n December, representatives from all 12 members of the Organization of Petroleum IExporting Countries arrived in Luanda for the 155th Opec summit. The day-long confer- ence was a great opportunity for Angola to show the international community that it could host such a high-profile event, coming as it did only a few weeks before the first matches were played in the Africa Cup of Nations. Angola is the most recent member coun- try of Opec, having joined in 2007. Two years later, in January 2009, Angola was given the annual rotating presidency and José Botelho de Vasconcelos, Angola’s Minister for Petro- leum, took over as Opec’s president for the next 12 months. It is Opec tradition that the end-of-year summit is hosted by the presiding nation. For weeks before it took place, the Angolan media reflected national excitement about the event and Botelho de Vasconcelos became the most wanted man in the country. The new monthly finance magazine Exame pictured him on the cover of its launch issue with the headline ‘Mr Opec’, with an in-depth interview inside. A few days before the summit, the press corps arrived en masse from capitals including London, Paris, Johannesburg, Lisbon and Dubai. International reporters were particularly interested in the Luanda summit because it has been a turbulent few years for Opec. In the final quarter of 2008, oil prices dropped consider- ably, a direct consequence of the global eco- nomic crisis. In December of that year, as the price of a barrel of oil fell to under $40, Opec decided to make significant cuts in oil produc- tion in an effort to stabilise prices. It was Opec’s biggest ever production cut. In 2009, Angola took over the Opec presi- dency in testing circumstances – a great chal- lenge for the rookie nation, especially since cutting production is a double-edged sword: prices may rise, but if production drops so may revenues. In Angola, the oil sector represents 80 per cent of revenue and 97 per cent of exports.
Top: Delegates at the summit
Bottom left: Hussain Al-Shahristani, Iraqi Minister of Oil
Bottom right: José Botelho de Vasconcelos, OPEC Angola’s Minister of Petroleum during an Pictures: interview
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NEWS
All of the Opec member nations’ oil minis- ters were present in Luanda, except for Iran’s minister, Masoud Mir-Kazemi, and Kuwait’s minister, Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Sabah, who were represented by their Opec governors. The representatives of four non-Opec coun- tries, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman and Indonesia, were attending the summit as observers. Angolan preparations for the event included the opening of the country’s first five- star hotel at the Talatona Convention Center, where the VIP guests had luxury chalets. The summit began with a welcome speech by Botelho de Vasconcelos. “When we accepted this presidency, we knew that it would be diffi- cult,” he said. “But we didn’t hesitate to face the challenge. Today, we can announce without fear of mistake that we managed to fulfill our OPEC goals.”
Pictures: When Angola took over the presidency in January last year, oil prices were still very low. They improved during the year and by Decem- ber were fluctuating between $70 and $80 a barrel, a price considered ideal by most of the cartel’s members. “At between $70 and $80, everyone is happy,” said Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi. “The current price is good for consumers, producers and investors.” Botelho de Vasconcelos said that the increase in the oil price was not just due to the production cut; in the second half of 2009 the market had reached some kind of “serenity” thanks to the improved economic outlook in Asia and Europe. He added that he was proud of Angola’s presidency because the country was still in a phase of rebuilding and that comply- ing with the quotas was a real sacrifice. The meeting also confirmed that Opec had decided to maintain oil production at current levels. Later, Paulo Kassoma, Angola’s Prime Minister, expressed his concern for the planet and his intention to adopt measures in favour of sustainable development, such as invest- ments in clean-technology projects and imple- menting radical changes in production and consumption habits. After the speeches, the ministers met for a short closed-door meeting and then went
Top left: Al-Husayn Mirza, Bahrain’s Minister of Oil
Top right: Libyan General Secretary of Opec, Abdullah El-Badri
AFP/Getty Images Bottom: Paulo Kassoma, Prime Minister of Angola
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NEWS
briefly to the Presidential Palace to meet An- golan President José Eduardo dos Santos. In the afternoon, Botelho de Vasconcelos and Opec secretary general Abdalla El-Badri gave a press conference that lasted for an hour. The two men remained encouraging and posi- tive: El-Badri repeated that the current oil prices were “suitable for producers and con- sumers” and Botelho de Vasconcelos declared that different economic signs on a global scale made them think that the price would remain at this level in 2010. They also renewed the call on non-Opec oil producers to support oil-market stabilisa- tion, since the restoration of market equilib- rium was “a burden which Opec member countries are unable to bear alone”. In the official statement after the press conference, the cartel warned that “although asset market prices have rebounded and eco- nomic growth has resumed in some parts of the world, it is not yet clear how strong or durable the recovery might be ”. Concerning Angola, Botelho de Vasconce- los said that one of the next big challenges for the country would be the new refinery in Lobito, which should be ready in 2014. Angola currently consumes 75,000 barrels of petrol a day and still imports half of its daily needs. In conclusion, El-Badri made a very com- plimentary comment on Angola’s presidency of Opec: “I would give an ‘A’ if I had to qualify this period of Angolan presidency,” he said. The Angolan media praised the summit. Weekly private paper O País ran with the head-
line ‘Mission Accomplished’, saying that the AFP/Getty Images presidency had ended well. And the national daily paper Jornal de Angola considered that “the Angolan presidency of Opec was positive”. A year ago, Angolans were very aware that the smooth running of the Opec presidency would help create a positive image of Angola’s capacity to govern. Twelve months later, as Botelho de Vasconcelos handed over the pres- idency to Ecuador’s oil minister Germánico Pinto, he seemed very satisfied that he had managed to maintain a form of cohesion inside the oil cartel throughout a difficult time.
Top left: Ali aI-Naimi, Saudi Arabian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources
Bottom left: The international press corps OPEC
Right: Manuel Vicente, Sonangol Chairman Pictures:
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Delegates came from all of Opec’s 12 members – Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela – and four observer countries: Egypt, Bahrain, Oman and Indonesia OPEC Pictures:
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NEWS
ngola’s first five-star hotel opened its rooms and a number of restaurants and doors in December to welcome bars. These include Sabores do Mussulo Aministers and guests to the Opec serving seafood; La Piazza Del Forno, serv- summit. The Talatona Convention Hotel, ing Italian cuisine; Brent’s Bar, a meeting which is adjacent to the convention centre place and cocktail lounge; and the Pebbles in Luanda Sul where the Opec meeting was Club for night entertainment. held, was officially inaugurated by At the opening, Minister of Tourism President José Eduardo dos Santos. Pedro Mutindi said: “This business repre- The five-storey building has 201 rooms, sents another asset for the growth of the including 20 suites and a presidential suite, country’s hotel and tourism industry.” as well as 20 villas, each with two bedrooms Maria Idalina Valente, the Minister of plus additional accommodation for a driver Commerce, added: “With progress already or other staff. Rooms, which range from achieved in many fields, the country $600 to $5,000 a night, are air-conditioned deserves to have a facility of this level.” and have internet and other communica- A mixture of national and expatriate tion facilities. staff make up the hotel’s workforce of 400 There are 12 meeting rooms, a and in January the hotel formed the base for swimming pool, a gym, tennis the Confederation of African Football in courts, beauty-treatment Angola for the Africa Cup of Nations. OPEC
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Images from the Opec summit: (clockwise from bottom left) an interior from the Talatona Convention Hotel; Angolan art; host- esses; “The Thinker” – a symbol of Angola; dancers OPEC Pictures:
46 SONANGOL UNIVERSO MARCH 2010 47 SU25.Lucinda.pp48-49:SU24 23/2/10 10:22 Page 48
NEWS OIL FOR SALE An interview with Lucinda Guimarães, Sonangol’s commercial director
Can you tell us a little bit about your career? Looking ahead, what are the challenges for your I started work at Banco Standard Totta in July 1975 and later worked department? for the Ministry of Industry, Imavest Company, Tornang Company The main challenge is to keep the team members motivated and and from 1985 to 2006 at the Ministry of Petroleum. Since July 2006 to constantly improve their professional skills so that they are ready I have been working for Sonangol. to face new developments in the oil sector.
What are the main features of your job as commercial How important is Angola’s membership of Opec to director? your department? The aims are to guarantee the execution of all the commercialisa- Opec’s main objective is to guarantee crude-oil price stability on tion operations for crude oil and refined products in order to the international market, to avoid volatility and guarantee stable maximise the acquisition of proceeds; to strengthen Sonangol’s proceeds to its members as well as a continuing supply of crude oil image as a competitor company on the international market; and at a fair price. Since Angola is a country that depends mainly on oil to support our subsidiaries abroad by providing solutions to their revenues, I support the idea of having stable prices and my depart- concerns. ment positively contributes to reach this objective.
How many people work in your department and how How do you see the future of the oil industry in is it structured? Africa? There are 31 people in my department, which is structured as Africa is, and will continue to be, a critical component of world follows: secretary, crude oil department, inspection department energy supply. It is rapidly expanding its exportable energy-re- and products department. source base to include natural gas and, over time, can also be expected to become a significant exporter of petroleum products as What are the products that you sell and who are it builds new refinery capacity. This growth will require new skills Sonangol’s main customers? and create new employment opportunities across the African con- We have exported mainly crude oil and some fuel oil, nafta, gasoil, tinent. The challenge for Africa will be to develop these human gasoline and Jet A-1. We have tried to diversify our customers but resources quickly. I am pleased to say that considerable progress is they are mainly from China, the United States and Europe. being made on this front, both in Angola and across the continent.
Can you give an idea of the volumes of sales and how How does it feel to be one of the few women they have grown? directors at Sonangol? Angola’s petroleum activity has risen over the last few years and the I am certainly proud to be one of the few women directors at volume of sales increased according to the production level. Sonangol. It strives to encourage and promote those individuals who have the capacity to lead the company and the country How would you like your department to develop over forward in the new economic era in which we find ourselves. the next few years? Sonangol’s management does not consider that an individual’s I hope my department will turn into an autonomous business unit gender plays any role whatsoever in their ability to succeed and to which is more efficient. help others to succeed. I am proud to be part of an organisation that recognises this fundamental fact. Lucinda Guimarães Sonangol strives to encourage and promote those Lucinda de Carvalho Ribeiro individuals who have the capacity to lead the company Guimarães and the country forward in the new economic era in Born Luanda March 5, 1956 Graduated in Economics at Agostinho Neto University in 1984 “which we find ourselves Kamene M Traça 48 SONANGOL UNIVERSO ” MARCH 2010 49 SU25.map.pp50-51:SU24 23/2/10 10:23 Page 50
THE BIG PICTURE: TREES
CONGO ngola has a rich flora including many species of trees. This is not surprising with its varied terrain, ranging from coastal plains to mountain escarpments and high Aplateaux, and with a wide-ranging climate producing deserts in the south, equatorial Cabinda DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC tropical jungle in the north and a great area of grassland savannah in the centre. Here we OF CONGO look at three of the country’s most interesting trees.
Zaire Baobab Lifuá or Douka Mopane The African baobab, The province of Cabinda has a wonderful The mopane cannot match the imbon- Uíge known in Angola as abundance of trees, producing valuable deiro or the lifuá for size and presence the imbondeiro, is na- timber. Thirty-six different species of but it is an important food plant for the tive to much of Africa and such trees are listed by the Angolan Min- valuable mopane ‘worm’. The tree is slim is regarded as the largest istry of Agriculture. The lifuá or douka is and grey-trunked, usually growing to Bengo succulent plant in the world. The enor- one of these. The lifuá occurs in a geo- about seven to ten metres in height, al- mous rather squat trunk can reach 28m graphical area stretching from though it can reach 30 metres. It has a Luanda Kwanza Lunda Norte in girth while the tree seldom reaches Cameroon in the north, down through crown of rigid, irregular branches and Norte Malanje more than 25m in height, so that many Gabon and the Congos and then on to the grows in a riparian habitat along the traditional Africans believed that God Mayombe (or Maiombe) forest of Cunene River among planted the tree upside down. It is the Cabinda. The trees tend to grow singly or the dry archetypical large solitary tree of the in groups of three or four and have a di- forests of Lunda Sul savannah, although in Angola it also ameter of up to two metres. Their great southern An- Kwanza Sul grows in woodlands and in coastal re- clean trunks grow to such a height that gola – as well as gions. It has large, white, sweetly-scented they can burst though the forest canopy. in parts of Namibia flowers visible at night which are mainly The green, then yellow, fruits grow up and other countries pollinated by fruit bats, although large to 10cm in diameter and are each filled in Southern Africa. insects and birds also visit to collect the with a sweet-smelling orangey pulp. For- Its leaves are often described as nectar. Many stories are told about this est elephants travel great distances to beautiful and elegant, or like butterflies, tree: for example, if a person eats one of search out the ripe fallen crop, and their and they close up in the heat of the sun to Bié Huambo the flowers they, in turn, will be eaten by well-worn trails through preserve moisture. Where the trees are Moxico a lion, while sucking the seeds may the jungle mark out numerous, little grass grows beneath. Benguela attract crocodiles. their movements The leaves have a turpentine odour The imbondeiro has large velvet- from one lifuá tree browsing families of elephants sometimes skinned fruits called mukua or múcua to another. The ele- strip off the leaves and bark and snap which have been described as looking like phants perform a and push over the trees. The mopane large rats hanging from the tree by their valuable task in the worms which also eat the leaves are the tails. They contain an off-white powdery dispersal of the tree caterpillars of the magnificent mopane Huíla material that can be made into a refresh- seeds. Conservationists emperor moth. These caterpillars can ZAMBIA ing drink which is rich in vitamin C and are concerned that over- reach 10cm in length and are an impor- has twice as much calcium as milk. In logging of the lifuá will ad- tant part of the diet of many local people Namibe 2008, the fruit was given approval by the versely affect these forest who consider them a great delicacy. European Union to be used in smoothies elephants. They are rich in protein, usually roasted, and cereal bars. The trunks of the imbon- Workers sawing up the and a trade in the dried caterpillars has Cunene deiros are so massive that those with hol- timber of both lifuá and also evolved. Kuando low centres have been used as houses, makoré wood have to be Some 34 species of bird feed on these Kubango storage barns and even as pubs and rain- careful as the dust can nutritious insects. There is concern else- water reservoirs. The leaves can be cause respiratory irrita- where in Africa that a possible over-har- cooked fresh as a vegetable and the tion, dermatitis and con- vesting of the caterpillars might
NB Illustrations/David Atkinson NAMIBIA fibrous bark is good for making mats. junctivitis. eventually make them extinct.
50 SONANGOL UNIVERSO BOTSWANA MARCH 2010 51 Luxury Fabulous High life MARCH 2010 in Luanda skyscrapers fossils found 100m years BC100m years Job done Botelho Angolan oil minister José ends his year de Vasconcelos at the as Opec president first ever Opec summit in Luanda Universo
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