Luanda, December 21, 2023, The Europe Today: Angola said on Thursday it would leave OPEC in a blow to the Saudi-led oil producer group that has sought in recent months to rally support for further output cuts to prop up oil prices.
Angola’s oil minister Diamantino Azevedo said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries no longer served the country’s interests. It joins other mid-sized producers Ecuador and Qatar, which have left OPEC in the last decade.
Angola, which joined OPEC in 2007, produces about 1.1 million barrels of oil per day, compared with 28 million bpd for the whole group.
OPEC did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Three delegates from the group who spoke on condition of anonymity said Angola’s decision to leave came a surprise.
The country has been unable to produce enough oil to meet its OPEC quota since 2019.
It has struggled to reverse falling output since hitting a peak of 2 million bpd in 2008 and expects to maintain current production into 2024, a senior government official said in October.
