March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Angola, sub-Saharan Africa's second- biggest crude producer, plans to increase average output to 2 million barrels a day by the end of this year from 1.9 million, exceeding its OPEC target.

The country will maintain that level of production until about 2013, Syanga Abilio, a vice president at state oil company Sonangol SA, said today in an interview at the Oil Africa 2008 conference in Cape Town, South Africa.

On March 5, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries allocated Angola, which joined the group in January last year, a production quota of 1.9 million barrels a day. OPEC maintained an output target of 29.673 million barrels a day for 12 of its 13 members.

``Our companies never received that instruction from our official government,'' Abilio said. ``The idea, according to our production profile, is to reach the 2 million barrels a day and stay at that plateau until 2013.''

In January, Angola's Oil Ministry said the country would adhere to OPEC production limits.

Sonangol plans to begin building a 200,000-barrel-a-day oil refinery in the port of Lobito before the end of this year, at an estimated cost of $5 billion to $6 billion, Abilio said.

In March last year, the company ended talks with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. about investing in the plant, which was then estimated to cost $3.7 billion.

``Probably at a later stage we may call for a partner,'' Abilio said. ``At the present stage no'' other investors are involved.

Sonangol also controls Angola's only other oil refinery, in the capital Luanda, where the company is based.

``This refinery is designed to process 65,000 barrels a day,'' Abilio said. ``We are only processing 35,000 barrels a day and the idea is to revamp so we can process the original 65,000.''

Nigeria is sub-Saharan Africa's biggest crude producer.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Cohen in Cape Town at mcohen21@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 18, 2008 07:54 EDT