Angola’s minister of oil resources announced Thursday the west African nation has decided to leave the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC.
The Angolan news organization Angop reported Minister Diamantino de Azevedo announced the decision following a meeting of the nation’s Council of Ministers, led by Angolan President Joao Lourenco.
Following the announcement, Angop reports Azevedo told reporters, "We feel that at this moment Angola gains nothing by remaining in the organization and, in defense of its interests, it decided to leave.”
Media reports say the action stems from a decision last month by OPEC to lower Angola’s 2024 petroleum output target to 1.11 million barrels per day, an amount Angola disagreed with. The oil minister reportedly sent a note of protest in response.
Bloomberg news service quoted Angola's OPEC governor, Estevao Pedro, at the time as saying the nation was unhappy with the target and was not planning to stick to it.
Data from the CEIC economic firm indicate, as of October, Angola was averaging about 1.6 million barrels per day.
The news, at least initially, drove down the trading price of oil by about a dollar to $78.50 per barrel.
Some information for this report came from Reuters and AFP.
