“OPEC is a cartel, whether we like it or not. And like all cartels, it thrives on imposed quotas. It wasn’t Angola that adhered to the quota; the quota adhered to us. The time would come when we would have to cut production. And that would not be fair to the country,” stated the minister, emphasizing that Angola still heavily depends on oil despite efforts to diversify its economy.
Diamantino Azevedo, speaking in Luanda after a presentation on the international diamond industry, also noted that within cartels, “countries lie about production, lie about reserves,” rejecting the idea of regulating the market through supply limitation in both the oil and diamond sectors.
“I don’t believe in that path. We have to showcase the value of our resources ourselves,” he said.
The minister also pointed to the natural decline in Angola’s oil production, worsened by management failures that the government is now trying to reverse.
“We stopped exploration, stopped bidding blocks, 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, protesting against the imposed quota — 1.11 million barrels per day — which was below its production capacity.
The country, already experiencing a natural production decline due to the maturity of its main fields and a lack of new exploration investments, considered further limiting production counterproductive for an economy still highly dependent on oil revenues.
The minister highlighted Angola’s commitment to partnerships with the United States and prestigious institutions 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 on par with the best universities in the world,” he emphasized, adding the government’s commitment to studying the potential in critical minerals and attracting American investment.
“We are not reacting. We are being proactive,” he assured.
