Angola continued its heavy dependency on oil and natural gas with the first nine months of 2024, seeing oil production increase and fossil fuels dominate exports, while efforts at economic diversification remained slow and insufficient, reports China’s Xinhua news agency.
Angola’s National Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG) said that average daily oil production in the country reached 1.134 million barrels in the first three quarters of 2024, up 4 percent compared to the same period in 2023. Last year was also Angola’s first since leaving the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in December 2023, a move driven by dissatisfaction with OPEC’s quota of 1.11 million barrels per day.
ANPG data through the first 11 months of last year shows Angola exceeded that quota every month save for April, when production fell short, and October, for which figures were not disclosed. The Angolan minister overseeing the sector affirmed the government’s commitment to maintaining oil production over 1 million barrels per day in 2025, an effort to reverse recent declines and ensure supply stability both domestically and internationally.
[See more: Angola looks to expand clean energy access following success of Biópio plant]
Oil producers in sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest oil exporter credit the increased output to cumulative efforts made over recent years. Commissioning new wells, one local petroleum company representative told Xinhua, offers potential for continued growth and stability even as the country contends with the long-term challenge of ageing oil wells.
Oil and natural gas accounted for 94 percent of Angolan exports in the first three quarters of the year, underscoring the country’s dependence on a sector which is the primary driver of human-caused climate change. Diamonds accounted for just 4 percent of exports while other products made up just 1.5 percent. Economic diversification is progressing “very slowly and insufficient to meet the country’s needs,” according to the Angolan newspaper Expansão.The former economy and planning minister, Manuel Neto da Costa, panned the total export revenue as “a pittance” and said it reflects “the failure that has constituted, until today, the approach taken to diversify the economy and increase exports.” Inflation and unemployment in the country are high, Expansão notes, warning that without a more diverse, sustainable economy, export revenues will continue to “dance to the music” of oil.
