Angolan Minister of Mineral Resources and Petroleum Diamantino Azevedo issued a statement on the 21st, announcing that the African country had decided to withdraw from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on the grounds that it would not be able to safeguard its own interests if it remained in OPEC.
Agence France-Presse reported that João Lourenço, an Angolan **, made the decision after a cabinet meeting.
Azevedo told Angolan People's TV that OPEC decided last month to cut production further next year to boost oil prices, a decision that Angola did not approve. "We think it's time to focus more on our own goals," he said, "and if we stay at OPEC, we're going to be forced to cut production, which is contrary to our policy of avoiding cuts and respecting contracts." ”
Angola joined OPEC in 2007 and currently produces an average of 1.1 million barrels per day and has proven recoverable oil reserves of more than 12.6 billion barrels. According to AFP analysis, Angola is not a major oil producer, and its withdrawal from OPEC will not have a greater impact on the size of this organization, but Angola's withdrawal at this time is not good for OPEC, which is persuading member countries to voluntarily reduce production to support oil prices. OPEC did not respond for the time being.
Analysts point out that Angola's decision to withdraw raises doubts about the unity of OPEC+, which is made up of OPEC and other oil-producing countries. UBS analyst Giovanni Stanovo said oil prices** were a concern for OPEC+ as a whole and that there was no indication that other members of the alliance would follow Angola's lead.
A former head of markets at Oman's energy ministry said Angola's withdrawal showed that there was no consensus within OPEC, which has been going on for some time.
Some of the most small member states have withdrawn from OPEC in recent years, with Qatar and Ecuador leaving in 2019 and 2020 respectively. On the 2nd of this month, Brazil** Luis Inácio Lula da Silva said that Brazil will join "OPEC+" as an observer. END) (Bao Xuelin).