According to Angola’s top official for oil, the country announced its exit from OPEC in December was due to its inability to accept an output limit that would prevent it from stabilising its oil production above a million barrels per day (bpd).
Making a speech in Luanda, Diamantino Azevedo, Angola’s minister for mineral resources, said:
“This organisation no longer aligns with Angola’s values and interests.”
He added that the production quotas that OPEC wanted to impose on the country would have challenged the country’s actual needs and capabilities.
Angola is currently increasing its efforts to improve its oil output after a steady decline in recent years due to underinvestment. Angola’s national petroleum agency has announced a number of licensing rounds where blocks will be auctioned off and initiated roadshows for potential investors.
Robert Besseling, who runs an advisory firm that focuses on analysing African economies, said the country may well benefit from leaving OPEC. He stated that:
“If Angola’s investment plans materialise and financing is assured, the country’s departure from OPEC will leave it in better stead. The government desperately needs higher oil revenues to resolve fiscal pressures and buffer its depreciating local currency.”
The current government in Angola is more aligned with western oil companies like ExxonMobil, the maker of the Mobil SHC gear oil, as well as the United States. The wider OPEC+ group, which includes some non-OPEC members, is dominated by Saudi Arabia and Russia, so Besseling said the departure from OPEC was consistent with the government’s strategic ambitions.
