French
oil firm Total inaugurated a major project off Angola with a capacity
of 160,000 barrels per day as the company touted its African investments
in the face of falling prices. New Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne
inaugurated the CLOV project, which draws from four deep-water fields
off Angola in the Atlantic off southwestern Africa.
CLOV
was launched in 2010 at a cost of $8 billion (6,5 billion euros).
Thursday's inauguration came with petroleum-producing nations and the
industry struggling with falling oil prices.
"Total
has three particular strengths: ultra-deep water, liquefied natural gas
and Africa," Pouyanne said at the ceremony, adding that Total was the
largest producer on the continent.
It is also the largest producer in Angola.
"Despite
the volatility of oil prices, we are keeping a long-term vision and we
are maintaining the projects that have been announced, such as Kaombo in
Angola," he said.
The
development of the Kaombo project however, which the company hopes will
produce 230,000 barrels per day, has seen a budget cut, from $20
billion to $16 billion.
A
third of Total's production as operator - some 670,000 barrels per day -
occurs in Africa. Pouyanne, who took over after the recent death of
Christophe de Margerie in a Moscow plane crash, visited Gabon as well
during his trip and plans to visit Nigeria in January, where Total also
has investments.
Nigeria
remains Africa's largest oil producer at some 1.88 million barrels per
day in October, according to the International Energy Agency. Angola is
the second-largest, with October production at 1.72 million barrels per
day.
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