Angola is leaving OPEC over output cut disagreement

Angola is leaving the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as membership is not serving its interests, oil minister Diamantino Azevedo confirmed on Thursday.

Angola, which joined OPEC in 2007, produces around 1.1 million barrels of oil a day, compared with 28 million bpd for the whole group.

Azevedo’s remarks confirm an earlier report by local news agency ANGOP. The minister told public television the decision to leave was because OPEC membership was not serving Angola’s interests. He did not disclose further details.

Oil prices extended losses following the news, with Brent prices going down over $1 to $78.50 a barrel by 12:50 GMT.

Angola’s departure is a setback for OPEC and its allies. The group tries to get members to cut output to support prices.

In November, Azevedo’s office disagreed with a decision by OPEC to cut its production quota for 2024. Bloomberg also cited Angola’s OPEC Governor Estevao Pedro as saying the country was unhappy with its 2024 target and would not plan to stick to it.

Disagreements over African production quotas had earlier caused a meeting of the wider OPEC+ oil producer group to delay.