Angola’s Oil Output Falls Below 1 Million Barrels a Day for First Time Since OPEC Exit

Angola’s crude oil production has fallen below 1 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first time in over two years, raising fresh concerns about the country’s ability to revive its struggling petroleum sector despite quitting OPEC to boost output.

According to figures released by the National Agency for Petroleum and Gas (ANPG), Angola pumped an average of 998,757 bpd in July—well short of the government’s forecast of 1,073,542 bpd. The last time output dipped below the 1-million-bpd threshold was in March 2023.

The setback also marks the first sub-1-million-bpd production level since Angola officially left the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in January 2024. The country had quit the cartel after 16 years in a dispute over reduced output quotas, vowing at the time to ramp up production once freed from OPEC+ limits.

Yet, more than a year later, production levels remain largely stagnant. Angola’s current output is nearly identical to what it was months before the OPEC exit, underscoring the industry’s deep-rooted challenges, including declining offshore reserves and years of underinvestment in new projects.

Angola’s oil production peaked at about 2 million bpd in 2008 but has been on a steady decline since then. High development costs in offshore fields and limited foreign investment have compounded the problem, leaving the government increasingly reliant on natural gas projects to sustain its fossil fuel revenues.

Analysts say that without significant new investments, Angola will struggle to reverse its declining oil trajectory, even outside the constraints of OPEC quotas.