(Ecofin Agency) - Eni and Sonangol have today announced that they have agreed to finalize the assessment of a gas field project aimed at generating up to 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of electricity for Angola.

The two companies declared this in a statement issued following a meeting in Rome with the chairman of Sonangol, Francisco de Lemos Maria, and Eni's Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi. The statement further stated that they are to conclude the assessment in the coming months, but a specific date was not given.

This project covers gas fields in the Lower Congo Basin which is about 115,000 km² from the Republic of Congo to Angola. "The meeting also resulted in an agreement between the two companies to collaborate on the development of the Lobito refinery project, with the intention that Angola will become independent in oil and gas supply," the statement said.

The Lobito refinery is a project that was expected to have been completed by 2011 but was delayed as a result of rising costs and financing delays, Reuters report.