No, I’m not talking about the Olympics. Angola recently beat out Nigeria to become Africa’s largest oil producer, exceeding its 1.9 million barrel a day OPEC quota.

Angola shows that, while mega producers such as Saudi Arabia cannot meet the expectations of a decade ago, a number of other potential producers such as Angola, Chad, Brazil, and elsewhere have the capacity to produce with the right technology and investment.

1974: 172,000 barrels per day
1991: 490,000 barrels per day
1995: 635,000 barrels per day
2001: 800,000 barrels per day
2006: 1,460,000 barrels per day
2008: 1,970,000 barrels per day (approximately, expected)

Nigeria is meanwhile struggling to meet its monthly OPEC commitment following repeated attacks on its oil infrastructure by militants which has suspended—hopefully temporarily—output from some of its major fields.

Almost all of Angola’s oil is exported to the United States.

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