The Angolan Oil minister Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos confirmed for June this year the first shipment of liquefied natural gas from Angola LNG project based in Soyo, northern Zaire province.

Botelho de Vasconcelos was speaking at the opening of the International Conference on Oil and Gas, held in Luanda.

He on the occasion assured that the beginning of loading is scheduled for this month (May), with conclusion in June.

According to the Oil minister, the Angola LNG Project will have a positive impact on the country's economic growth, reflected on the production of 5.2 million tonnes per year.

The project will also provide butane gas for domestic use, making the country self-sufficient.

The minister also said that the economic impact is on the widening, judging from the availability of a volume of 125 million cubic feet of natural gas per day for SONANGOL for production of power for the petrochemical industry.

He said the opening of the Angolan oil sector to international companies after the country's independence in 1975, was crucial to the rapid development that the sector recorded internally in the last year of activity.

The minister said the Angolan Government has successfully opted for a policy, at the level of the oil sector, which is to offer attractive conditions for foreign investment, providing them with the principles of reciprocal interests and mutual benefits.

According to the Oil minister, the use of high technology has made Angola a world-class oil country, a strategy that has as its basic premises the increase in oil and natural gas production, through geophysical studies that lead to the identification and evaluation of the oil potential.

He noted that the geophysical studies led to the discovery of new exploration areas, and for this reason the efforts are being focussed on exploration of the fields already identified.

Jointly sponsored by the Oil Ministry, the Fund of the African Petroleum Producers Association (APPA) and Africa & Middle East (AME) Trade, the meeting is scheduled to end Wednesday.

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(Originally published May 8, 2012, by the Angolan Press Agency.)