Angolan oil minister Diamantino Pedro Azevedo arriving at an OPEC meeting in 2023
Letter on OPEC: OPEC composition will continue to evolve
UAE looks a prime candidate to assert its growing power amid a group unlikely to either gain or lose many members in the foreseeable future
Angola’s decision in December to give up its membership of OPEC is important in that the loss of any country weakens the organisation’s power in global oil markets. For Angola, if it can reverse the long-term decline in its production from the peak of 1.9m b/d seen in 2008, then it will no longer be prevented by output quota restrictions from maximising its market share. However, this would be a long way in the future, if it ever happens. When Angola joined OPEC in 2007 it was regarded as a major producer and exporter in the making, with IOCs—including ExxonMobil and Chevron—talking a big game about how production could easily exceed 2m b/d. A combination of OPEC output restrictions, lack of
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Energy sanctions are becoming an increasingly prominent tool of US foreign policy, with the country’s growth in oil and gas production allowing it to impose pressure on rivals without jeopardising its own energy security or that of its allies, argues Matthew McManus, a visiting fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics
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The March 2026 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!
