Chevron says new Angola oilfield starts production

LONDON (Reuters) - Chevron announced on Thursday that its joint venture had begun oil production from its offshore Mafumeira Norte oilfield in Angola.

This is the first phase in development of the main Mafumeira oilfield, which is expected to reach total production of 30,000 barrels per day of crude oil in 2011 and maximum total output of 30 million cubic feet per day of natural gas in 2011.

Chevron is the operator of the Mafumeira project and has a 39.2 percent interest, while Angola's state oil company Sonangol owns 41 percent, Total 10 percent and Italion oil company ENI 9.8 percent.

"Today's milestone underscores Chevron's commitment to growing its resource base in West Africa and delivering on our robust queue of major capital projects," said George Kirkland, executive vice president, Global Upstream and Gas, Chevron.