The Italian oil company Eni announced that it expects to exceed by 2019 the 170,000 barrels of crude produced per day in block 15/06, in depths of the national offshore, following the entry into operation of the new Ochigufu field.
In a note sent to the Lusa agency, in Luanda, Eni states that the Ochigufu field is located 380 kilometers from the capital, went into operation two months ago and has now reached full activity, allowing production to reach 150,000 barrels of oil per day.
In the so-called "West Hub" of block 15/06, in which Eni is the operator, with a share of 36.84 percent, together with Sonangol (36.84 percent) and SSI Fifteen Limited (26 .32 percent), oil discoveries estimated at 3 billion barrels and reserves of 850 million barrels.
According to the Italian oil company, new reservoirs are being advanced this year for the "East Hub", also in the 06/15 block, while in the "West Hub" production starts at the Vandumbu field "in early 2019". These and other investments will make it possible to increase production in that block, in the north of the country, to more than 170,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Last November, the Italian multinational announced that it planned to start operations in two new oil fields offshore Angola in 2018 and 2019, allowing the addition of 54,000 barrels of crude to national daily production.
The information was released by the oil company, present in Angola since 1980, after the meeting in Luanda between the president of Eni, Claudio Descalzi, and the head of state João Lourenço.
The oil company clarified, in an information sent to Lusa, that the meeting, in the presence of the Minister of Mineral Resources and Petroleum, Diamantino Azevedo, served to address Eni's activities and projects for Angola "to improve access to energy and socio-economic development".
The Italian oil company adds that exploration rights in block 15/06 have, however, been "extended until 2020", thus allowing Eni to explore the production potential in that area. Strategy that "in case of success" will allow a development of reserves, "taking advantage of the synergies with the existing infrastructure", in addition to "significantly" reducing the time for placing crude oil on the market.
The meeting between the President and the leader of Eni also addressed the Italian multinational's support for monitoring the gas resources already discovered in Angola, "to support the domestic market and energy production", guaranteeing that it is collaborating with the state concessionaire Sonangol "to improve the efficiency of existing refineries and support the development of future factories".
