Angola revival stalled by global demand slump
Sharply lower oil prices mean the West African country will find it difficult to finance the investment needed to replace its ageing offshore fields
Slumping oil prices and weak demand are reducing investment in Angola’s oil sector, hastening a decline in production that could cut the country’s output by more than a third by 2029. Angolan president Joao Lourenco, elected in 2017, has sought to reform the country’s sprawling, corrupt bureaucracy and boost dwindling crude production. He created a standalone industry regulator, the National Oil and Gas Agency, separating out the function from NOC Sonangol, and cut corporate taxes in an effort to attract more interest in the country’s costly and risky deepwater marginal fields. “Going into 2020, it was looking pretty positive,” says Adam Pollard, a senior upstream analyst at consultancy Wood
Also in this section
10 December 2024
Sector at economic and strategic crossroads, but clear path ahead for midstream additions
30 November 2024
Decades of turmoil have left Iraq’s vast energy potential underutilised, but renewed investment and strategic reforms are transforming it into a key player in the region
29 November 2024
The country's fifth and sixth oil and gas bid rounds have attracted a range of new players with gas as well as oil ambitions—and there’s a seismic shift in the contracting process
28 November 2024
Iraq is charting a new path for its indigenous resources and its youth, hoping to electrify the future with a mix of reforms and modernisation to fuel growth
