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New Deep-Water Oil Well Discovered in Angola
Esso Exploration Angola, filial to the Exxon-Mobil Corporation, has discovered a new oil well in the deep-water oil field Block 15 off the Angolan coast, the state- owned Angolan National Society of Fuel (SONANGOL) said Wednesday in a statement.
According to the SONANGOL statement, the new oil well, denominated as Mavacola, is located in the Block 15, some 307 kilometers northwest of the Angolan capital Luanda. During the test production, Mavacola, which perforated the crust at a depth of 1,155 meters under water and has a total length of 2760 meters, produced 3,280 barrels of petroleum everyday.
Esso, an operator in the oil-exploring zone Block 15, said that studies of geology and engineering are necessary for evaluating the total capacity of the oil well. Mavacola is the 12th discovery realized by Esso in the Block 15, where four oil wells were found in 1998, two in 1999, three in 2000 and three in 2001.
Except Esso holds 40 percent of the share in the Block 15, other participants in the zone are BP Exploration (26.67 percent), Agip Angola Exploration B.V. (20 percent), and Statoil (13.33 percent).
Angola is the second largest oil producing country in Africa, with a daily oil production ranging from 750,000 to 780,000 barrels.
The Angolan government divided the country's territorial sea into various blocks for oil exploration. The foreign companies have to bid against each other for the authority for exploring and extracting petroleum in those areas under a system of concession.
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