Sonangol will begin on the Research and Technology Centre (CIITIP) plan in 2021 and be completed in 2022. The site will hold a number of institutions, including higher education, professional training and business incubators. The center will work on a range of aspects for Sonangol and the sector. These would include exploration, development, production, refining and petrochemicals, renewable energy and sustainable development. Sonangol will build the center in Sumbe, in the Cuanza Sul province, near the National Petroleum Institute. There has been discussion of such a center before. A number of companies acquiring licenses in the Kwanza Basin agreed to provide funds for this work. They included BP, Cobalt International Energy, China Sonangol and Equinor.
Equinor has come under fire recently over payments in Angola. The Norwegian company paid $45 million for work on the center between 2011 and 2016. Equinor did not reply to a request for comment seeking clarification on the planned center. This is vital public revenue that should have paid for schools and hospitals, not lined the pockets of unaccountable elites. International and Angolan authorities must take action to ensure that every penny is accounted for and used to promote the public good.