“OPEC is a cartel, whether we like it or not. And like all cartels, it lives off imposed quotas. Angola was not meeting the quota, it was the quota meeting us. The time would come when we would have to cut production. And that would not be fair to the country,” said the minister, highlighting that Angola is still heavily dependent 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, aggravated by management failures, which the government is now trying to reverse.
“We stopped prospecting, we stopped bidding for blocks, we stopped reviewing our governance model. Now we are correcting it,” he said.
Angola officially announced its withdrawal from OPEC in December 2023, after 16 years of participation, in protest against the imposed quota — 1.11 million barrels per day — which was below its production capacity.
The country, which is already experiencing a natural decline in production due to the maturity of its main fields and the lack of new investments in prospecting, considered that limiting production even further would be counterproductive for an economy that continues to be highly dependent on oil revenues.
The minister also highlighted Angola’s commitment to partnerships with the United States and with 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 same level as the best universities in the world,” he emphasized, adding the government’s commitment to studying the potential of critical minerals and attracting North American investments.
“We are not reacting. We are being proactive,” he assured.
