"Angola is going to join Opec shortly, in March next year, the exact day has yet to be finalised," ministry spokesman Bastos de Almeida told Reuters by telephone.

"There are deep advantages financially."

The decision was taken by the Angolan cabinet on Wednesday, the Angola Press Agency (Angop) reported.

"The decision took into account the part played by the country in the world's oil domain, in view of its current output of 1,4 million barrels a day," the agency said late on Wednesday.

Angola, sub-Saharan Africa's second largest oil producer after Nigeria, currently produces about 1,4 million barrels of oil per day.

Production is expected to hit two million barrels per day next year, underlining the African nation's growing importance in the oil world.

Joining Opec also signals Luanda's confidence that the country is quickly emerging from a brutal 27-year civil war that devastated its economy, and is set to enjoy several more years of strong economic growth.

Angola's economy grew by 18 per cent last year, and the government expects another year of heady growth in 2006.

American oil giant Chevron Corp.

is among the companies that have increased investments in Angola's oil sector.

Chinese firms also have gained a foothold, with a series of deals backed by loans and credit from Beijing.

Cabinda, a former Portuguese enclave that was incorporated into Angola after independence in 1975, has been the centre for much of the oil activity in the country, accounting for about 65 per cent of Angola's oil output.

Oil exploration in the region, which is separated from the rest of Angola and wedged between Congo Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo, has tended to focus on offshore drilling.

Nampa-Reuters

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