Monthly oil production in Angola 2020-2021

The oil production in Angola was measured at 1.29 million barrels per day in December 2021, improving from 1.25 million barrels in the previous month. During the period observed, the output reached the highest in the first quarter of 2020. After that, it started an overall downward trend. In 2020, the country produced on average 1.3 million barrels of oil daily, the lowest level in the last fifteen years. Currently, Angola’s challenge lays in reversing this decline in production, as the activity has an enormous influence on the country’s economy.

Impact of the falling oil output

In 2020, Angola’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrunk by 5.6 percent. The economy was heavily affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which led to a decrease in global oil demand. Simultaneously, crude oil prices declined sharply amid an international price war. These external shocks, however, just worsened a previous stagnation scenario driven by the slowdown in oil output. Being the second largest oil producer in Africa, Angola relies strongly on this resource. Around one-third of the country’s GDP is rooted in the oil industry. Moreover, crude oil, natural gas, and refined oil account for almost all national exports.

Oil sector lacks investment

Despite vast oil reserves, Angola’s oil sector struggles with a lack of investment. For instance, capital expenditure, often used for new projects and investments, declined to three billion U.S. dollars in 2021, against 15 billion U.S. dollars in 2014. To face such issues and revitalize the sector, the Angolan government released a strategic plan for the exploration of hydrocarbons between 2020 and 2025 and approved new tax incentives to boost the oil industry. Furthermore, investment to increase the national oil refining capacity is also planned, with new refineries expected to start operations by 2025.