admin Sebastião Gaspar Martins is the Chairman/CEO of Angola’s national oil company, Sonangol. The company is involved in oil and gas exploration, production, refining, transportation, and marketing of hydrocarbons in Angola.
The company was founded in 1976, with headquarters in Luanda. As of 2023, Sonangol was said to have produced 202,000 barrels of oil with an income of US$10.9 billion.
Mr. Sebastião Gaspar Martins has a first degree in mechanical engineering from Agostinho Neto University and a master’s in business administration from Catholic University, Angola.
He was appointed in 2019 by the president, João Lourenço, with a mandate to lead the company’s restructuring and privatization.
He joined Sonangol in 1989 as a trainee engineer, rising through the ranks to become the CEO.
His major achievements:
Having been saddled with restructuring the company operationally and financially by the president, he has been able to reduce the debt burden by 50%, increase oil production by 10%, and launch new exploration blocks.
He has fostered partnerships with international oil companies like Chevron, Total, and ExxonMobil in order to attract investment to Angola’s energy sector. As CEO of Sonangol, Sebastião Gaspar Martins is also focused on decarbonized oil and gas development and renewable energy projects. He is a regular speaker at international energy conferences.
By Our Reporter
