Cabinda Gulf Oil Company began drilling in the second phase of the field's development, collecting 150,000 barrels of oil and 350,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day. Production is expected to peak in 2018.
"This milestone supports our priority of completing major projects and improving free cash flow," Jay Johnson, executive vice president of upstream projects for Chevron, told World Oil. "The Mafumeira Sul project generates new production and value for Angola, our partners and the corporation."
The block sits just 15 miles off the coast of the Cabinda province under 200 feet of water. As part of Phase 1 operations, a temporary production system pumped oil in October 2016.
Sonangol, Angola's state-run energy company, owns a 41 percent share of the venture, while Shell holds a 39.2 percent stake. Total and Eni own the remainder.
Last month, Johnson said Chevron had been discussing more attractive tax rules for investment in Angola with the local government and Sonangol to determine Chevron's future in the African country.
"Existing tax terms are not very attractive ... We have been working both with Sonangol and with various departments of the government of Angola so that we can make it feasible and we can invest," the executive said. "Our investment will depend on what will result from these negotiations."
Angola's economy has been struggling with low oil prices, and talks over amending tax regimes would starve the country from other streams of revenue. The country's economy did not grow in 2016, and GDP is expected to increase by 1.5 percent this year, while consumer prices will continue to soar, according to projections by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com
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Zainab Calcuttawala is an American journalist based in Morocco. She completed her undergraduate coursework at the University of Texas at Austin (Hook’em) and reports on… More