Angola has written to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) communicating its decision to leave the body.
In the letter dated Friday, December 22, drafted by Angola's ministry of mineral resources, oil and gas, the southern African nation says it will cease being a member of OPEC from January 1, 2024.
Angola told OPEC's Secretary-General Haitham Al Ghais that it was wishing the organisation well in its work "towards stability of the oil market."
On Thursday, Angola announced that a cabinet meeting had resolved to end the country's OPEC membership after the oil organisation reduced its crude oil quota to 1.11 million barrels daily.
'Gaining nothing'
"We feel that at this moment, Angola gains nothing by remaining in OPEC. In defence of its interests, Angola has decided to leave the organisation," Angola's Oil Minister Diamantino de Azevedo said in the capital Luanda.
Angola protested the decision made by OPEC on November 30, saying the country was capable of producing up to 1.18 million barrels of crude oil daily.
OPEC will be left with 12 member states after Angola's exit. The organisation coordinates and unifies petroleum policies of the member states to ensure stabilisation of oil markets.
OPEC, which is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, enjoys significant influence on global oil prices. Angola voluntarily joined the organisation in 2006.
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