Angola Officially Leaves OPEC On Jan 1, 2024

Angola has officially written to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to withdraw from the cartel effective January 1, 2024.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Ministry for Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas.

Africa’s second-largest oil producer announced its intention to withdraw from OPEC last Thursday, December 21, 2023, at a meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by the Angolan President,João Lourenço without formal communication to the cartel.

When this portal contacted OPEC, the group said they did not receive any official communication from Angola, explaining that they only heard the news from some news outlets.

However, the Ministry of Minerals, Oil and Gas in a statement said communication was sent to the OPEC Secretary General, Haitham al-Ghais, to formalise Angola’s decision to stop being a member of the intergovernmental organisation.

“The Government of Angola announces its decision to withdraw from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, with effect from 1 January 2024, under the terms of Presidential Decree 233/23, of 21 December,” MIREMPT said in a statement.

The Angolan government thanked the Organisation for the support it had given to its member countries and wished it well in carrying out its work for the stability of the oil market.

Angola has been a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Oil Exporting Countries for more than 16 years and has fully complied with all the obligations owed to the organisation, as well as sharing in the efforts that the signatory countries of the OPEC and Non-OPEC Declaration of Cooperation (OPEC+) have made to stabilize the international oil market.

Minister Diamantino Azevedo explained that the decision “was not taken unanimously and went against Angola’s position, so the Angolan government reiterated and maintained its proposal to produce 1.180 million barrels of crude oil per day by 2024.”

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com