By Sully Manope, in Luanda
French major TOTAL is celebrating what it calls “the significant milestone of producing a cumulative two billion barrels from its operated deep offshore Block 17”, located 150 km off the coast of Angola.
“With the recent start-up of CLOV”, the company says in an enthusiastic release, “Block 17 has become TOTAL’s most prolific site with production of over 700,000 barrels per day”.
The Paris based company operates four Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units on the major production zones of Block 17: Girassol, Dalia, Pazflor and CLOV.
The statement recalls that TOTAL celebrated its 60th anniversary in Angola in 2013. In 2014, the Group’s equity production reached 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOEPD), coming essentially from Blocks 17, 0 and 14. In early 2015, Total’s operated production exceeded 700,000 BOEPD, making it the country’s leading oil operator.
Total operates Block 17 with a 40% interest alongside Statoil (23.33%), Esso Exploration Angola Block 17 Ltd (20%) and BP Exploration Angola Ltd (16.67%). The Angolan state hydrocarbon company, Sonangol, is the concessionaire of the licence.
