Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) secretary general Abdalla Salem el-Badri held talks with Angolan officials on Monday on oil prices and production quotas.
Angola, the largest sub-Saharan oil producer in Africa after Nigeria, joined Opec in December.
El-Badri met Angolan Oil Minister Desiderio da Costa and was also expected to hold talks with President Jose Eduardo dos Santos on Tuesday.
The Oil Ministry said delegations would also discuss production monitoring and statistical reports as well as long-term production plans.
Angola significantly boosts Opec’s influence over global oil markets because of the added volume.
Angola’s crude production, most of it from offshore rigs operated by foreign companies, has climbed to about 1,4-million barrels a day. It is expected to reach two million barrels a day this year.
While joining Opec has brought Angola international prestige, it has also meant adhering to Opec production quotas.
The south-west African country is China’s largest supplier of crude, having overtaken Saudi Arabia last year.
Foreign oil companies operating in Angola include Chevron, BP, Exxon Mobil and Total SA. State oil company Sonangol oversees the sector and awards operating licences.
Oil revenues provide about 80% of Angola’s state income. Last year, Angola earned almost $30-billion from foreign oil sales, according to government figures.
The country, a former Portuguese colony, is now relatively stable politically. A ruinous two-decade civil war ended in 2002.
Human rights groups, however, have accused Angola’s leaders of concealing the exact amount the country receives from crude sales and of stealing some of the money. Angolan officials have denied the charges.
The International Monetary Fund has complained about a lack of openness in oil-sector accounting in Angola. — Sapa-AP