Luanda, June 28, 2025 (Lusa) - Angola's minister of mineral resources, oil and gas, Diamantino Azevedo, said on Thursday that Angola's experience in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) "has not been good" and criticised the workings of international cartels.
"OPEC is a cartel, whether we like it or not. And like all cartels, it lives off imposed quotas. It wasn't Angola that met the quota; it was the quota that met us. The time would come when we would have to cut production. And that wouldn't be fair to the country," said the minister, emphasising that Angola still depends heavily on oil, despite its commitment to economic diversification.
Diamantino Azevedo, who was speaking in Luanda after a presentation on the international diamond industry, also considered that, in cartels, "countries lie about production, they lie about reserves," rejecting the idea of regulating the market by limiting supply, both in the oil and diamond sectors.
"I don't believe in that path. We have to show the value of our resources ourselves," he said.
The minister also pointed to the natural decline in oil production in Angola, which is being aggravated by management failures, and the government is now trying to reverse.
"We stopped prospecting, we stopped bidding on blocks, we stopped reviewing our governance model. Now we're correcting it," he said.
Angola officially announced its withdrawal from OPEC in December 2023, after 16 years of participation, in protest at the quota imposed, 1.11 million barrels per day, which was below its production capacity.
The country, which is experiencing a natural decline in production due to the maturity of its main fields and the scarcity of new investments in exploration, considered that limiting production even further would be counterproductive for an economy that remains highly dependent on oil revenues.
The minister also emphasised Angola's commitment to partnerships with the United States and institutions of excellence, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
"Who doesn't want to work with the best? We are preparing our students and institutions so that one day they can be at the level of the best universities in the world," he said, stating that the government was committed to studying the potential in critical minerals and attracting US investment.
"We're not reacting. We're being proactive," he added.
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