Angola remains Africa’s top oil producer

Angola produced an average of 1.091 million barrels of oil per day in September 2022, a decline of 83.000 barrels compared to the August output. The September level is also roughly 5% below the 2022 average (1.147 million) that had been estimated by the Angolan petroleum regulator (ANPG) earlier in the year. Despite the lower output, Angola remains the biggest oil producer in Africa ahead of Libya and Nigeria. Africa’s top producer spot was conquered by Angola in May 2022 after overtaking Nigeria.

As regards oil exports, the daily average for the months of July and August was 1.092 m/b. Sonangol is the largest exporter by a wide margin, as it is responsible for about 42% of all exports. Of the total oil exported by Sonangol, some 70% constitutes the so-called “Concessionaire Oil” (oil share taken by ANPG on behalf of the state) and 30% is Sonangol’s “equity oil” (its own production as operator and investor). Angola’s oil exports have remained steady throughout the year.

The list of exports by oil company in July/August 2022 is as follows:

• Sonangol – 462.572 b/d monthly average
• TotalEnergies – 127.432
• ExxonMobil – 95,957
• ENI – 92,158
• Sinopec – 90,476
• BP – 63,700
• Equinor – 61,508
• Chevon – 60,171
• All others – 38,464

Of note is that two of the above companies (Sinopec and Equinor) are not operators, so all of their exports derive from their non-operator interests in several blocks operated by other companies.

As regards production, TotalEnergies remains the largest producer by far. Some 34% of all oil produced in Angola is originated in blocks operated by TotalEnergies.