The Dalia offshore oilfield in Angola, which pumps 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), is set to undergo planned maintenance for more than a month beginning on February 20, a spokesperson for the operator of the field, French supermajor TotalEnergies, told Reuters on Tuesday.
The maintenance, which is expected to last for 35 days, will significantly reduce oil supply from Angola to the international markets. Only 30 cargoes – an unusually low number – are set to depart from Angola in March, according to Reuters. Angola may not export any Dalia crude in March because the field production will need to be shut down to complete the works, traders told Reuters.
The maintenance on the Dalia oilfield will include inspections of the equipment and subsea lines and works relating to flare tips, according to TotalEnergies.
The Dalia field maintenance will reduce Angola’s crude oil production for at least a month. Output from the African OPEC member is already well below its targeted production under the OPEC+ agreement, even with the cuts that the alliance initiated in November 2022.
Angola’s crude oil production averaged just 1.015 million bpd in December, down from 1.026 million bpd for November, according to secondary sources in OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR). To compare, Angola’s target production under the OPEC+ deal is 1.455 million bpd until December 2023 or until OPEC+ decides otherwise.
The reduction of supply from Angola will come at a critical time for the global oil market, just after the EU ban on imports of Russian refined oil products by sea will have come into force. The oil and diesel markets are bracing for a chaotic February after the EU ban takes effect on February 5.
Europe’s diesel market reached a two-month high on Monday, with the ICE gasoil contract trading above $1000 per ton, driven by the EU’s ban on seaborne imports of Russian fuel products from February 5, and increased demand for jet fuel as travel continues to recover, Saxo Bank said on Tuesday.
