Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, the secretary general of Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has applauded Angola’s leadership for its strong reforms in the oil and gas sector
Angolan President João Lourenço and his administration, including Diamantino Azevedo, minister of Mineral Resources and Petroleum, have pushed through a series of bold regulatory reforms aimed at attracting new investment and diversifying the oil-dependent economy.
These reforms include the creation of the new National Agency of Petroleum to manage oil and gas concessions, a new focus on downstream investment, the creation of a new institute to regulate oil and gas by-products, tax reforms, and the implementation of new policies to encourage the utilisation and monetisation of gas.
Barkindo said, “We congratulate the government’s heroic efforts to reform the industry. These are the right reforms at the right time. We at OPEC applaud these reforms.”
Barkindo’s visit to Angola was his first as secretary general of OPEC, and comes shortly after Angola joined the Gas Exporting Countries Forum as a new member and as the country is aggressively pursuing new investments in its mature oil and gas industry.
During the visit, Barkindo emphasised Angola’s role as one of 25 countries now participating in Declaration of Cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC members to reduce oil output and maintain oil price stability, adding that “this stability is good for both producers and consumers.”
Angola’s investment outlook has improved with the oil price in 2018, with new projects in the country reaching final investment decision, such as Total’s Zinia deepwater project. The government is also executing a new strategy to ensure self-sufficiency of oil supplies by investing in new and existing oil refineries, including the refineries at Cabina and Luanda.
“Despite the efforts of our government to diversify our economy, oil still plays an important function in our growth. As such, stability is very important to our industry,” commented Azevedo.
