Chevron dances to Africa beat
$20bn earmarked for projects
US supermajor ChevronTexaco is primed to pump $20 billion into its Africa operations over the next five years, with the lion's share of the cash going to Angola.
"Africa represents a significant portion of ChevronTexaco 's investment strategy where, together with our partners, we plan to invest over $20 billion over the next five years," Jim Blackwell, managing director of ChevronTexaco 's Southern Africa strategic business unit said.
"Our Angola operations, in particular, are a central component of the company's global exploration and production portfolio."
Reuters said that Angolan state media reported that ChevronTexaco would invest $11 billion into 12 oil and gas projects in the country over five years.
Angola currently pumps 1 million barrels per day and is expected to double production by 2008.
The state-run Jornal de Angola said that of the $11 billion investment slated for Angola, $7 billion had already been committed - $1 billion to developing Block 14's Benguela-Belize-Lobito-Tomboco (BBLT) project - set to start production in 2006.
An additional $2 billion had gone into the Sanha Condensate development and more than $4 billion into Angola's flagship Liquefied Natural Gas project, the paper said.
ChevronTexaco and its Block 0 partners had signed an agreement in May with the government and state-run Sonangol to extend the Block 0 concession to 2030.
"The Sanha Gas Condensate development - which will help to eliminate routine flaring on Block 0 when it comes fully on stream in early 2005 - continues on pace," Blackwell said.
"In deep-water Block 14, we have made solid progress on the Benguela-Belize development. Elsewhere, with the Angola LNG project participants, we continue to move this important gas project forward towards commercialisation," he added.