Kerry, oil majors, see bright future for Angola

LUANDA, Angola, May 5 (UPI) -- Some of the biggest energy companies in the world are in Angola to the benefit of the nation's economy, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said.

Kerry arrived Sunday in Angola during his tour of African nations, and met there with representatives from Chevron, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips to hear their energy strategies in the country.

Chevron, a new player in the Angolan energy sector, has already created more than 3,000 jobs in the country, the secretary said.

"We’re standing in a place of enormous economic activity with great promise for future economic growth and development," he said in a statement.

Last month, French energy company Total said it would invest $16 billion in development the Kaombo oil project off the Angolan coast.

The field, which has an estimated 650 million barrels of reserves, should produce 230,000 barrels of oil per day for Angola once operations begin.

Angola is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. It has 9 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves and produces on average 1.7 million bpd.