Angola expected to produce 2 million barrels of oil per day in 2017

The Angolan government’s target to produce 2 million barrels of oil per day has been postponed for a further two years, from 2015 to 2017, according to Angola’s Finance Minister, Armando Manuel, speaking in Washington.
The minister also told financial news agency Bloomberg that the state budget for 2015 had been prepared based on a price per barrel of oil of between USD88 and $92 and said that Angola had called on the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to implement measures to prevent further price drops.
The previous target of 2015 was repeatedly stated by Oil Minister Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, who expected several oil exploration projects going into production, including Italian group ENI in Block 15/06, to increase daily output.
The Finance Minister also said that although oil prices are falling, the start of production of new projects could offset that and ensure that the growth of Angola’s economy will not be affected.
“I hope that per barrel prices remain at an acceptable level that does not expose the country to bigger problems,” said Armando Manuel.
According to Bloomberg’s estimates, oil production from Angola stood at 1.87 million barrels per day in September.
On Tuesday the National Bank of Angola reported that foreign reserves fell from $28.63 billion in July to $27.03 billion in August.
Angola, which is the second-largest sub-Saharan oil producer obtains 95 percent of its foreign reserves from crude oil exports. MDT/Macauhub

Economy to grow 3.9 pct this year and 5.9 pct in 2015, IMF says

Angola’s economy is expected to grow 3.9 percent this year and 5.9 percent in 2015, the International Monetary Fund forecast in its “World Economic Outlook” (WEO) report, published in Washington.
In the April WEO, figures pointed to growth of 4.1 percent in 2013, 5.3 percent this year and 5.5 percent in 2015, but were revised due to “a slowdown in the expansion of agricultural production and due to a temporary drop in oil production in the first half of the year.”
According to the IMF, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Angola this year is expected should have the lowest growth in the group of seven oil-producing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of Equatorial Guinea, which should continue in sharp recession in 2014 and 2015.
The group of countries, which includes Nigeria, Gabon, Chad, Republic of Congo and South Sudan, is expected this year to post growth of 6.1 percent and 7 percent in 2015 (average values).
In 2015, the IMF expects growth of Angola’s GDP (5.9 percent) to exceed Gabon, whose forecast is 5.4 percent, allowing the country to rise one place in the ranking of the group of oil producers.
On Monday, the National Bank of Angola (BNA) announced in Lisbon that Angola’s economy is expected to grow at an annual average of 5 percent over the next four years, driven by the growing participation of the private sector. MDT/Macauhub