Angola’s departure from OPEC was confirmed by their oil minister, Diamantino de Azevedo, during a meeting led by President João Lourenço, as reported by ANGOP. This decision arose following disputes over oil production quotas between Angola, Nigeria, and other OPEC members.
Earlier this year, Angola and Nigeria received reduced crude oil production quotas within the OPEC+ agreement due to their history of underperforming and failing to meet quotas, largely due to insufficient investment in new fields and the maturation of older ones.
Tensions over African countries’ quotas led to a postponement of an OPEC meeting. This disagreement could have led to increased pressure on Angola, Congo, and Nigeria to make additional production cuts, a concern particularly highlighted by Saudi Arabia, which has been carrying a significant portion of the burden within the agreement.
Initially, Angola had denied any intentions of leaving OPEC, as expressed by Angola’s OPEC governor, Estevao Pedro, who reassured markets that the country had no plans to take such a drastic step. However, recent disagreements over production quotas seem to have shifted Angola’s perspective on the benefits of maintaining OPEC membership.
Angola’s decision to join OPEC in 2007 was a significant move for a country holding substantial untapped oil and gas resources, estimated at 9 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves and 11 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves.
