Luanda, Angola | AFP |
A large hydrocarbon deposit has been discovered off the shore of Angola’s capital Luanda at a site operated by American firm ExxonMobil, the country’s national agency for oil, gas and biofuels announced Monday.
The deposit was discovered about 365 kilometres (225 miles) northwest of the oil-rich nation’s coast through a drilling 1,100 metres deep, the Angola’s National Agency for Oil, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG) said in a statement.
The ANPG added the new reservoir has physical properties “of high quality”.
The American natural gas giant, which is implementing new multiple drilling technology, is expecting to produce about 40,000 barrels of oil daily from the new deposit.
“ExxonMobil is optimising this resource and creating value for the Angolan people,” president of ExxonMobil Upstream Company Liam Mallon said in the same statement.
Angola — which is one of the top two largest oil exporters of the black gold in Sub-Saharan Africa alongside Nigeria — produces 1.2 million barrels a day, the country’s mineral resource ministry told AFP.
The oil-dependent nation, which embarked on an ambitious reform programme to diversify its economy, has faced strain from a decline in oil prices since 2014.
© Agence France-Presse
