"We currently have a decline of around 10 to 15 percent per year and the intention today is, with the programs we have for drilling new wells and developing new fields, to mitigate this decline. Afterwards, we are also preparing the bases for having exploration campaigns and then yes, if we find fields the size of those we have today, then we will have the possibility of stopping this decline and, perhaps, reversing the trend of the downward curve", explained the person in charge, in statements to Rádio Nacional de Angola (RNA).
Regarding the current number, which is below one million barrels, the Secretary of State said it was normal, however, the objective for this year is to reach 1,100,000 barrels, emphasizing that they are "in a good position" to reach that digit at the end of the year.
"It is normal that occasionally we have production below one million barrels, but our objective for this year is to reach around one million and 100 thousand barrels and we think that we are still in a good position to reach this value at the end of the year", he said, quoted by RNA.
In addition, he also spoke about natural gas: "What we want today is to explore, develop and produce pure gas fields, just gas. In this case, some investments have already been made, we are going to start by exploring two fields that are already known, the Quiluma and Maboqueiro, and then others will follow and, thus, we have enough capacity for the Angola LNG plant to continue operating, but we also want this gas to serve other objectives of our economy", said the official, quoted by RNA.
OPEC maintains estimates of world oil consumption this year
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) maintains estimates for world oil consumption this year, as well as an increase of 2.3 percent over last year. However, according to Angop, the organization calculated that demand in Europe will suffer a decrease, being the only area where a reduction is expected.
According to OPEC forecasts – which appear in the April oil market report – it is estimated that world demand will be positioned at around 101.9 million barrels per day, however consumption in the more industrialized European countries will drop by around 0. 3 percent this year compared to 2022, to 13.46 million barrels a day, writes Angop.
