Over the past three years, Angola has become the largest crude oil producing country in Africa, surpassing Nigeria in 2009 due to attacks on the oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta. Oil plays an important role in the Angolan economy, accounting for over 90 percent of export revenues and over 80 percent of GDP. Despite crude oil production limitations imposed by OPEC, Angola is expected to increase oil production and capacity in the short-term as new offshore projects come online and foreign investment continues to flow into the sector.

Natural gas production in Angola is tied directly to oil production and is often vented or flared, with limited volumes consumed domestically. Plans are underway to capture and market this natural gas for domestic electricity generation and to export most of it in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 2012.

Angola is still rebuilding the infrastructure destroyed during the country’s 27-year civil war that came to an end in 2002. Some security issues remain, specifically in the disputed oil-rich Cabinda exclave where separatist groups are still active.

President José Eduardo dos Santos has been in power since 1979. The most recent presidential elections were held in 1992 which led to a flare-up in the then ongoing conflict. Parliamentary elections were held in 2008 and in January of 2009, the Parliament approved a bill to abolish direct presidential elections. The oil licensing rounds that were initially planned to follow the presidential elections are now expected to go ahead in the short-term.

In recent years, China has agreed to provide multi-billion dollar oil-backed loans to fund infrastructure development. These loans are costly and repayment depends heavily on international oil prices but at the same time, Chinese firms are playing an important role in Angolan recovery while Angola has become one of the leading suppliers of oil to China.