As a result, Angola will continue to attach great importance to training. At the same time, the Government is also placing emphasis on the restoration and development of auxiliary oil enterprises, such as the Kwanda oil logistics base and oil refineries as a means of broadening the petroleum sector. New Refinery Planned for Central Angola Carlos Saturnino, Director of Planning at Sonangol, announced on January 15 that it will build a new refinery in Lobito, a coastal city in central Angola, as a way to promote economic development in the region. A technical team was in Lobito in January evaluating potential sites. Their conclusions are expected shortly and Sonangol hopes to begin construction in a few months.
Construction is already underway on a new shipyard and an oil logistics and supply base.
Another American Oil Company Enters Angolan Oil Sector United Meridian Corporation, a Houston-based energy company, was awarded a 20 percent interest in deepwater Block 19, the company announced on February 6. The block is 1.2 million acres and located approximately 30 miles south of Block 17 where some of Angola's largest oil fields are located. In early January, Chevron provided additional information on its discovery of a second giant oil field located nearby the Kuito field off the coast of Angola. Initial tests from the site indicate that it could hold as much as one billion barrels of recoverable oil, or about a quarter as much oil as is in the largest North Sea oil field. The new field, which has been called Landana, was originally thought to hold about 500 million barrels, but Chevron doubled that figure after a third appraisal well flowed as promising as its first two appraisal wells.