Angola’s oil production fell below the million-barrels-a-day level for the first time since it quit OPEC two years ago.
Crude output declined to 998,757 bpd in July, the lowest level since March 2023, when average monthly production last dropped to six figures, according to Angola’s National Agency for Petroleum and Gas data.
The decline highlights the challenge the government faces in achieving its revenue projections as crude trades below the $70-per-barrel benchmark used in Angola’s 2025 budget. The southwest African nation is considering approaching the International Monetary Fund for financial assistance, though it’s yet to make a formal request, according to the Washington-based agency.
Angola is courting investment in its oil industry to stave off a further decline in output. It quit OPEC in 2023, after 16 years of membership, because of production quotas set by the group and has been trying to maintain output above 1 million bpd since then.
Equinor ASA has lauded Angola’s initiatives to increase activity, with Chevron Corp. recently adding deepwater blocks. TotalEnergies SE also approved a $6 billion project there last year.
Still, a production decline in the fields is inevitable. Angolan Oil Minister Diamantino Pedro Azevedo in October described mitigating the drop as the government’s “biggest challenge.”
Angola had forecast 1.07 million barrels a day for July, ANPG said, with the decline coming ahead of plans to cut exports to 994,000 barrels a day in October from 1.09 million in September, according to a preliminary schedule seen by Bloomberg News.
Source: Candido Mendes