Angola announced its departure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), joining several other members that quit the group in recent years, while some members were surprised by the decision.
Angola’s Oil Minister, Diamantino Azevedo, stated that Angola had lost interest in being in the OPEC, and the country did not benefit from being a member of the group anymore.
This led to speculation that the move could come from Angola’s disagreement with the rest of the alliance’s push for reduced production in 2024, as some raised questions about the integrity of the group members.
On Thursday, international oil prices declined by nearly 2.4%, following the question on OPEC+ unity, but the circumstances did not affect any prominent countries in the group to even take a step toward the exit route.
Angola joined OPEC back in 2007 and produced 1.1 million barrels of oil per day. The exit of Angola from OPEC caused the group to remain 12 members and reduce its oil production to about 27 million barrels of oil per day (about 38 million bpd including other allies), while the increase in oil output from non-OPEC countries, such as the United States, has reduced market share of OPEC.
