"Due to the lost production in the Dalia field in February and March, we forecast that oil production will fall by 1.6 percent, to 1.12 million barrels per day in 2023", reads a commentary on the most recent data on the sector in Angola, which show a recovery in production.
In the note, sent to customers and to which Lusa had access, the African department of Oxford Economics also estimated a reduction in the price of a barrel of oil by 21 percent, to an average of 80 dollars this year, which makes them predict, therefore, a reduction in oil revenues of the second largest producer in sub-Saharan Africa.
"Even so, we foresee a moderate slowdown in economic growth, from 3.3 percent in 2022 to 1.9 percent this year, due to increased resilience in non-oil activity", reads the commentary.
Oil production in Angola continued to recover in June, after having fallen to the lowest level in almost two decades in March, due to the stoppage for maintenance work at the Dalia well, one of the largest in the country.
Angola managed to pump 1.12 million barrels a day in June, an increase of 10,000 compared to May figures, but continues to produce below the limit allowed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreement, which allowed the Portuguese-speaking country to produce over 340,000 barrels every day.
The increase in production from new and extended oil wells, a process completed in 2021 and early 2022, helped to stabilize oil production last year, but the addition of new capacity, concludes Oxford Economics, "has been almost canceled out by operational difficulties that led to production losses in older wells".
