Throughout Southern Africa, motorists are paying lots to fill their tanks, from over R20 a litre in South Africa to almost R30 in Zimbabwe.
But, there’s one nation the place drivers are paying lower than half that quantity, because of a mixture of oil wealth, authorities subsidies, and home refining.
That nation is Angola, Africa’s second-largest oil producer, the place diesel prices round $0.44 (R8.50) per litre.
How Angola retains its diesel so inexpensive
1 Oil wealthy benefit
Angola has a novel benefit that lies beneath its soil. The Star reported that Angola produced a mean of roughly 1.098 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2023.
By that point, the nation ranked because the third-largest producer in Africa, solely behind Nigeria and Libya.
Not like a lot of its neighbours that import refined gasoline, Angola is ready to produce and refine a portion of its gasoline regionally. In keeping with White & Case, solely the one principal refinery, the Sonangol‑owned Luanda Refinery, meets about 20‑30% of home demand, leaving 70% of gasoline merchandise imported.
Angola’s tasks like the brand new Lobito Refinery, are anticipated to additional lower dependence on imports.
Gas subsidies maintain costs low
One more reason for Angola’s low-cost diesel is the heavy authorities subsidy on petroleum merchandise.
For years, Luanda has saved pump costs artificially low to guard households and transport operators from inflation. Africa Press experiences that in June 2023 and April 2024 the federal government launched worth will increase, resulting in a discount in subsidies.
Nonetheless, this comes at a price. Subsidies have traditionally strained public funds, prompting the federal government to start a gradual subsidy reform in 2023, which led to slight gasoline worth will increase, although nonetheless far under regional averages.
How Angola’s diesel compares to its neighbours
In Southern Africa, diesel costs range broadly relying on import reliance and taxation insurance policies:
