Chevron announces seventh deepwater Angola find

Petroleum News Alaska

Chevron has announced the discovery of the Tombua field, the company’s seventh significant find in Angola’s prolific deepwater Block 14.

The company said July 5 that the discovery was drilled in June in 925 feet of water to a depth of 10,535 feet, and tested at a maximum combined rate of 10,022 barrels per day of high quality 39 degree API gravity crude from two zones.

The Tombua discovery, approximately 19 miles south of the Kuito field, is the latest in a string of exploration successes in Block 14, including: Kuito (1997), Landana, Benguela and Belize (1998), and most recently Tomboco and Lobito, discovered in 2000. The Kuito field, was Angola’s first deepwater discovery and the first and only deepwater Angola field to be brought on to production.

Block 14 covers 1,560 square miles and is west of and adjacent to the Chevron-operated Block 0 Concession, offshore Angola’s Cabinda province.

John Gass, managing director of Chevron’s Southern Africa strategic business unit, said Chevron intends to continue moving Block 14 discoveries into production. Over the next five years, he said, Chevron and its partners will invest more than $6 billion in Angola.

Chevron’s Angola-based unit, Cabinda Gulf Oil Co. is operator of Block 14 and holds a 31 percent interest; Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola, Agip Angola and TotalFinaElf-Angola each hold a 20 percent interest. Petrogal holds the remaining 9 percent interest.