By: OrePulse

President João Lourenço of Angola has offered Namibia the opportunity to acquire a stake in the Lobito oil refinery, a 200,000-barrel-per-day facility due for completion in 2029.

Lourenço made the offer during talks in Luanda, the Angolan capital, with Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who was in Angola on a state visit. The talks also comprised the first session of the Angola-Namibia Binational Commission, bringing the two heads of state together for discussions covering bilateral cooperation between the two neighboring southern African countries.

Neither president disclosed the size of the stake Namibia might take, the financial terms of any transaction, or a timeline for Windhoek to respond to the invitation.

The refinery is under development in Angola's Benguela province and, once completed, is intended to produce petrol, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, aviation fuel, and other refined products. Angola has said the project is intended to curb the country's dependence on imported fuel and to broaden its domestic refining capacity.

During the talks, Lourenço raised the potential for deeper oil-sector collaboration between the two countries. He focused on the idea of expanding how refined fuels are produced and marketed, arguing that doing so would add value to crude output and help satisfy rising energy demand in the region.

Lourenço also offered to share Angola's expertise in exploring for oil, producing it and marketing the resulting products, an offer extended as Namibia works toward its first commercial oil output, a milestone it has not yet reached.

The two governments described stronger cooperation on energy as a shared priority, citing projects that could help drive broader economic development across the region. The two presidents did not specify which other projects might be covered under that cooperation.

The invitation for Namibia to take a stake in the Lobito refinery came as part of the wider discussions held in Luanda during Nandi-Ndaitwah's state visit and the inaugural session of the Binational Commission between the two countries. No further details of the visit's outcomes were disclosed in connection with the refinery proposal.