Angola Oil: Production, Reserves & Role in the Market
Angola Angola quit OPEC at the start of 2024 after 16 years of membership, in a dispute over a production quota it considered unfairly low — and its output has kept declining anyway, since the real constraint is aging fields and thin new investment, not the quota that was the trigger for leaving.
Key Figures
| Measure | Value | As of / source |
|---|---|---|
| Production, 2025 | About 1.07 million b/d average | Industry estimates |
| 2026 forecast | About 1.14 million b/d, a forecast rise as new projects ramp up | Oxford Economics forecast |
| OPEC history | Member 2007–2023; left effective January 1, 2024 | OPEC, industry reporting |
| Regional rank | Sub-Saharan Africa's #2 producer, behind Nigeria | EIA |
| State oil company | Sonangol — but international majors (TotalEnergies, Chevron, ExxonMobil) operate most of the large offshore fields | Industry reporting |
Rankings and comparisons: world production & consumption · reserves by country · biggest oil companies.
Why Angola Left OPEC
The quota dispute
- OPEC had assigned Angola a production quota of about 1.1 million barrels a day, which Luanda argued was below its real capacity and unfairly constrained its revenue.
- When OPEC would not raise the quota to match Angola's own production plans, the government announced in December 2023 that it would leave the group entirely, effective January 1, 2024 — a striking move for a country that had been an OPEC member since 2007.
- Angola's output has continued on largely the same trajectory since leaving, underlining that its real constraint is aging offshore fields and limited new investment, not the OPEC ceiling that prompted the exit.
Where the oil comes from
- Most Angolan crude comes from deepwater pre-salt fields such as Kaombo (operated by TotalEnergies) and Dalia, developed and run by international majors rather than the state company.
- Sonangol itself directly produces only a minority of national output, around 200,000 b/d, with the rest coming from operator-run joint ventures.
- Angola also hosts Angola LNG, exporting liquefied natural gas produced alongside its oil fields.
US Trade with Angola
| Flow | Latest month | Share of US total | vs year ago | Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US crude imports from Angola | 24 kb/d | 0.4% | −63.6% | July 2026 |
| US distillate fuel oil exports to Angola | 10 kb/d | 0.6% | — | July 2026 |
EIA monthly trade statistics, thousand barrels a day. Full rankings: US crude imports by country and US fuel exports by country.
Oil Companies Operating in Angola
| Company | Type | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| TotalEnergies | Integrated major | Publicly traded; no controlling shareholder. |
| Eni | National oil company (state-owned or state-controlled) | The Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance has de facto control with about 33.1% of the shares: 2.17% directly and about 30.9% through Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. |
| Sonangol | National oil company (state-owned or state-controlled) | Owned by the Government of Angola; a partial privatisation of up to about 30% has been planned by 2027. |
From the oil company directory: companies with material producing operations here or headquartered here, hand-curated from company filings.
Angola Oil FAQ
Why did Angola leave OPEC?
Angola left OPEC effective January 1, 2024, after OPEC would not raise its production quota — set at about 1.1 million barrels a day — to match the output level Angola said its fields could sustain. It was a member for 16 years, since 2007.
Has Angola's oil production changed since leaving OPEC?
Not dramatically. Output has followed roughly the same path as before the exit, which suggests aging offshore fields and limited new investment — not the OPEC quota — were the real constraint on Angolan production all along.
Does the United States import oil from Angola?
Yes. The EIA recorded about 24 thousand barrels a day of US crude imports from Angola in July 2026, 0.4% of the 6,224 thousand b/d the US imported in total, −63.6% on a year earlier.
Does the United States export fuel to Angola?
Yes. In July 2026 the EIA recorded US exports to Angola of about 10 thousand b/d of distillate fuel oil.
Which oil companies operate in Angola?
The oil company directory lists TotalEnergies, Eni, Sonangol with producing operations in Angola. See the directory for who owns each company and which basins it works.