Angola said it would leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in a blow to the Saudi-led oil producer group that has sought in recent months to rally support for further output cuts to prop up oil prices.
Angola’s Minister of Oil, Diamantino Azevedo, said the organisation no longer served the interest of the country.
It joins other mid-sized producers Ecuador and Qatar that have left OPEC in the past decade.
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“We feel that … Angola currently gains nothing by remaining in the organisation and, in defense of its interests, decided to leave,” Azevedo was quoted as saying in a presidency statement.
International oil prices dropped by as much as 2.4 percent on Thursday as analysts said the departure raised questions about the unity of OPEC and OPEC+, the wider group that includes Russia and other OPEC allies.
OPEC+ implemented a new round of oil output cuts in January to try to strengthen the market.
Reuters/NAN.