Environmental Protection and Sustainability in Angola
Environmental protection covers a broad spectrum of activities with the main objective being to maintain or restore the quality of the environment, be it soils, water courses, or the air we breathe.
The focus is on the prevention of the release of emissions or the reduction of the presence of polluting substances in the environment. This can be done through changing the characteristics of goods and services, changing the consumption patterns of these goods and services, changing the way they are produced, investing in the treatment or appropriate disposal of waste generated during the production or disposal of these goods, or recycling of this material where possible. The prevention of degradation of the landscape and ecosystems is important.
As per this definition, the adequate management of processing facilities, reduction of waste generation, adequate disposal of waste, and management of the environmental resources critical to the economic development of Angola are essential.
ACP has further focused on developing the environmental protection industry, by investing in the support services to the oil sector through a waste management company called Angola Environmental Serviços Lda (AES). After the FIPA investment, the company expanded geographically by setting up a new waste management facility in Soyo. AES clients are mostly international oil companies such as Total, ENI, Chevron, Esso, BP, Maersk Oil and Angola’s national oil company Sonangol.
Angola Environmental Serviços
AES is strategically positioned to respond to the need for environmental sustainability by providing a niche waste management service to the oil and gas sector. The company is registered with the Ministry of Petroleum (MinPet) as a service provider to the oil industry. Treatment facilities are housed at the Sonils Base in Luanda and a landfill in Cacuaco, north of Luanda. The strategic location of the AES plant within the Sonils Oil Services Centre in Luanda provides an advantage in terms of easy access to facilities and services to oil and gas companies. The AES Total Waste Management Facility (TWMF) at the Sonils Base comprises a facility to treat oil-contaminated muds and drill cuttings as well as an incinerator to treat hazardous waste.
The TWMF includes the following:
- Administration building / head office;
- Five Thermal Desorption Units (TDUs);
- High Temperature Incinerator Unit (HTIU);
- Liquid and solid quayside transfer station;
- Steam cleaning / washing area;
- Tank farm;
- Wastewater treatment unit; and
- Storage and maintenance facilities.
ACP’s decision to invest in AES in 2014 was due to their position as a market leader in its segment and to its privileged position to scale up and create the required capacity to process additional waste arising from the implementation of stricter environmental laws, without creating bottlenecks in the oil industry.
The growth opportunities included the expansion to the Kwanda Base in Soyo, as well as managing the impact of new legislation enforcing a reduction of the allowed share of hydrocarbon content in waste disposable to the sea from five percent to zero percent. AES receives approximately 60,000 tons of industrial waste per annum, servicing key clients contributing to more than one fifth of the GDP. Between 2014 and 2017, AES processed more than 320,000 tons of industrial waste, thereby contributing greatly to environmental sustainability.
