Eni brings more oil online offshore Angola

LUANDA, Angola, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The start of a new development project in deep Angolan waters should yield 100,000 barrels of oil per day in the coming months, Italian energy company Eni said.

The company announced the start of oil production from its so-called West Hub Development in the deep waters off the coast of Angola. Eni said the new development should translate to production of up to 100,000 bpd.

"The start-up of the West Hub in Angola is a milestone in Eni's upstream activities," Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi said in a Monday statement.

Angola is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. OPEC said Angola has proven crude oil reserves of 9 billion barrels and 9.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The so-called East Hub Development should start producing oil for Eni within the next two years, doubling the expected rate of production from the region to around 200,000 bpd.

Angola is drawing more interest from major oil companies.

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

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 bpd for Total.

Since entering Angolan waters in 2006, Eni said it's discovered more than 3 billion barrels of oil in place.