On Tuesday, news broke of Angola’s decision to back out of a deal with Cobalt International Energy to purchase an oil discovery for $1.8 billion. Sonangol, Angola’s state energy firm, had reached an agreement with the Texas-based company a year ago, but Isabel dos Santos, the billionaire daughter of the Angolan president and Sonangol’s new boss, advised Cobalt to find a new buyer for its assets, which lie off the Angolan Coast, earlier this week, according to The Financial Times. The move, which distances Sonangol from an ongoing United States Department of Justice investigation into Cobalt’s conduct in Angola, serves as a show of strength for Santos, after several members of her father’s political opposition called her appointment a clear sign of nepotism. Santos’ refusal to accept the deal shows the new leader’s willingness to make meaningful breaks in preexisting polices and structures in a difficult economic period for […]