Angola wants to maintain it’s oil production target despite a call from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to reduce quotas.
- OPEC has suggested that Angola should reduce its oil production to 1.11 million crude oil barrels per day.
- Angola wants to keep the production target at 1.18 million barrels, to stimulate economic growth.
- Algeria is the only African country to announce voluntary oil production cuts.
Angola is not keen to reduce its oil production in line with a proposed quota by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), because the country needs to grow its economy.
The position by Angola, a member of OPEC for the past 16 years, was communicated by the country’s Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Diamantino Pedro Azevedo after the 26th OPEC+ Oil Producers Meeting.
A 1.11 million barrels of crude oil per day production quota was proposed for Angola.
The cuts have the support of Saudi Arabia and Russia, countries that conducted voluntary cuts this year and going into next year.
But for Angola, that will not work, Azevedo said.
“Due to the fact that the decision was not taken unanimously and is against Angola’s position, we reiterate our proposal for a quota of 1.18 million barrels of crude oil for the year 2024,” he said.
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According to the minister, Angola will aim for and adhere to a crude oil production limit of more than 1.18 million barrels per day in order to achieve energy security and promote its gross domestic product (GDP) growth through efficient production, exploitation, and monetisation of its oil resources.
Angola’s oil and refining industry, which makes up about 26% of GDP, was the main driver of growth.
The sector expanded 7.6% in the second quarter, after contracting 4.4% in the prior three months and 6.1% in the last quarter of 2022, according to a Bloomberg report in October.
In a communiqué issued by OPEC countries that agreed to the voluntary cuts, they said they would eventually cut a total of 2.2 million barrels per day, “aimed at supporting the stability and balance of oil markets”.
The only African country to announce its willingness to cut barrels per day (bpd) is Algeria.
“These additional voluntary cuts are announced by the following OPEC+ countries: Saudi Arabia (1 000 bpd); Iraq (223 000 bpd); United Arab Emirates (163 000 bpd); Kuwait (135 000 bpd); Kazakhstan (82 000 bpd); Algeria (51 000 bpd); and Oman (42 000 bpd) starting 1st of January until the end of March 2024.”
Afterwards, in order to support market stability, these voluntary cuts will be returned gradually, subject to market conditions,” OPEC said.
Nigeria was given a daily production target of 1.5 million.
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