According to the export cargo manifest, obtained by the financial information agency Bloomberg, the second largest oil exporter in sub-Saharan Africa will export less than half what it said it aspired to when it joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), in 2007.
"The decline in production in Angola is the result of a lack of investment in exploration, but also of the slowdown in the investment in the exploration of these declining wells over the past few years," commented Dominic Smith, analyst at consultancy WoodMackenzie.
"Angola's long-term production profile will continue to fall if investment does not rise significantly," the analyst warned.
Oil production in Angola fell noticeably from 2016, when international oil companies drastically cut investment following the fall in prices in 2014, mainly damaging countries where the operation is more expensive due to technical difficulties in pumping oil from ultra-deep waters.
Nigeria remains the largest producer in sub-Saharan Africa, with Angola in second place since overtaking Libya in war, but with the country's recovery, Angola's second position is now threatened, writes Bloomberg, noting that the vast majority the production of these two countries is for export and not for refining.
In addition to Libya's competition, Angola is also facing the threat of climate change, with the International Energy Agency arguing in a report this month that if countries want to meet the goal of emitting zero carbon dioxide in 2050, they will have to stop now. investments in new oil and gas projects.
A scenario that is bad news for Angola, whose oil represents more than 90 percent of exports, but also for Mozambique, which bets on gas projects to guarantee the sustainability of public finances and economic development.
