In this week’s DMEA we look at some of the latest updates from Saudi petrochemicals firms and Angola’s plans to go it alone on its main refinery project.

Saudi’s Sipchem this week posted a 162% increase in net profit for the first quarter of the year, buoyed by reduced finance costs and increased profits from JVs. The news contrasts with the fortunes of Advanced Petrochemical, which last week said its profits had fallen by 4% during the period on the back of higher costs for raw materials.

Elsewhere, the Saudi Industrial Investment Group (SIIG) has received approval to acquire all shares of the National Petrochemical Co. (Petrochem), with the latter having been suspended from trading on the Saudi stock exchange.

Meanwhile, Angolan NOC Sonangol has decided to move forward with the construction of a new refinery at Lobito, even though it has yet to choose a partner for the project, according to Sebastião Gaspar Martins, the company’s president.

Martins indicated on April 18 that Sonangol had chosen this strategy, despite having hoped initially to follow a different path. “At the moment, we are deciding with which entities we are going to form the consortium and shareholder, but we intend to move forward with the project, albeit with initial funds from Sonangol,” he was quoted as saying by Ver Angola during a press briefing. “The decision has been taken, and this refinery is moving forward.”

The Sonangol head also told reporters that the company was having to adapt its plans for another refinery project in light of recent developments. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has affected the NOC’s efforts to procure the steel it needs for the construction of an oil-processing plant in Cabinda, he explained.

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