Franco-Angolan partnership expands cable plant for the oil industry

The second phase of a cable plant in Lobito, AngloFlex Lda., was inaugurated on Monday during a ceremony attended by the president of state oil company Sonangol, one of the shareholders, reported the Angolan press.

The investment already made in the factory that manufactures umbilicals (cables for the oil industry that are subjected to huge pressure) totals US$42 million, and its construction is the result of a partnership between Sonangol and French group Technip.

The chairman of Sonangol said at the time that the plant in Lobito is the only one of its kind in Africa, and has the capacity to produce umbilicals up to 27 kilometres long, “which makes it possible to revolutionise all fields under exploration, not only in Angola but also in the Gulf of Guinea and oil producing countries like Nigeria.”

The decision to expand the production capacity of the Lobito plant from 100 kilometres to 200 kilometres of umbilicals per year was made in 2011 with the aim of developing the oil fields of Angola, mainly in deep and ultra-deep waters and cables to supply international groups operating in Angola.

Founded in 2002, Angoflex Lda is a service company in the oil sector, which manufactures pipes, subsea structures and provides logistics services in Dande and steel umbilicals in Lobito, and its customers include national and international operators such as Sonangol, Total, BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and ENI.

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