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OPEC Secretary General Lauds Angolan Reforms

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

During his first visit to Angola as the head of OPEC, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo praised Angola’s leadership for its recently enacted oil and gas sector reforms. These reforms cover everything from taxes to new gas monetization projects. “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,” said Barkindo, Secretary General of OPEC on a two-day visit to Luanda.President João Lourenço has pushed through a series of bold regulatory reforms aimed at attracting new investment and diversifying the oil-dependent economy, including tax reforms, the creation of the new National Agency of Petroleum to manage oil and gas concessions, putting a new focus on downstream investment, the creation of a new institute for the regulation of oil and gas byproducts, and implementing new policies to encourage the utilization and monetization of gas.During the visit, Barkindo emphasized Angola’s role as one of 25 countries now participating in the 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, like 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.“History will conclude that Angola joining the OPEC family was a precursor to members of our organization increasing and a strengthening of the African voice in our decision-making structures and this new era of cooperation amongst oil producing countries,” Barkindo said.