As conflict in the Middle East pushes oil beyond US$100 per barrel, Angola and other African producers are in line to be among the main beneficiaries.
On Thursday, following renewed tanker attacks, Brent crude oil prices surged back past US$100 a barrel, having reached a peak of US$119.50 on Monday, the highest level since 2022.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime chokepoint through which about 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products flow daily, has crippled energy supplies.
While higher oil prices threaten net importing nations such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda, for Angola it offers the opportunity to replenish debt-reserve accounts with Chinese lenders and support new loans for projects such as the Lobito refinery.
A clause in Angola’s debt-reprofiling deal with Chinese lenders such as the China Development Bank (CDB) states that when the oil price exceeds US$60 per barrel, extra revenue is placed into a reserve account for debt repayments.
Compounding the problem, attacks by the Yemen-based Houthi rebels on ships using the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Suez Canal – the vital maritime arteries connecting Asia, Africa and Europe – have prompted some major shipping lines such as Maersk and MSC to reroute vessels around the Cape of Good Hope.
