Angola Approves Sale of Sonangol Stake in PAENAL Shipyard to Strategic Partner
Angola has taken a decisive step to strengthen its offshore oil and gas support infrastructure by approving the sale of the State’s indirect shareholding in PAENAL, Porto Amboim Estaleiros Navais Limitada, to a strategic and technological partner. According to Presidential Decree No. 368/25, published in the Official Gazette on December 31, 2025, the State’s participation in PAENAL, held through Sonangol, will be transferred to an identified partner with the technical and financial capacity to revitalize the shipyard. The move is aimed at reinforcing Angola’s oil and gas value chain, particularly offshore operations. The decree grants authority to the Minister of Finance, Vera Daves, in coordination with the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas, to oversee and approve all legal, financial and supervisory steps related to the transaction.
The government emphasized that revitalizing PAENAL’s facilities in Porto Amboim is critical to supporting offshore oil and gas activities, generating skilled employment, strengthening local content, and developing small and medium-sized enterprises linked to naval and industrial services. The project is also expected to contribute to reducing regional economic disparities.
The sale follows the failure of an earlier privatization attempt approved under Presidential Decree No. 250/19 after a public tender launched in December 2023 did not result in a successful transaction. Given the high level of capital investment required to modernize the yard, the government concluded that bringing in a strategic partner is essential to ensure the asset’s long-term viability and operational sustainability.
PAENAL was inaugurated in 2008 as a key component of Angola’s local content strategy in the oil and gas sector. Located in Porto Amboim, approximately 280 kilometers south of Luanda, the shipyard was designed to support offshore oil and gas projects through the fabrication of complex structures and the provision of industrial and naval services. The company was originally established as a joint venture between Sonangol and SBM, with South Korea’s DSME joining the partnership in 2010. Today, PAENAL remains one of Angola’s most strategic industrial assets for offshore energy development, occupying 27 hectares and equipped to serve large-scale oil and gas projects.
Source: angolanminingoilandgas.com
