Chevron budgets $ 2.3 bn for Angola's gas reduction scheme

The reduction of flaring on Chevron subsidiary Cabinda Gulf Oil Co.'s (CABGOC) Angolan assets will come with a hefty price tag of over $ 2 bn. The company said it would spend $ 2.3 bn over the next five years to reduce the flaring of natural gas from its oil fields.
The company said it will utilise the gas instead of flaring it.

Chevron's Southern Africa production manager, John Baltz, said the endeavour wasn't purely an economic measure.
"It isn't solely an economic project," but also a corporate responsibility effort. Baltz said the project will "reduce emissions for Chevron's corporate targets."

Currently, oil fields operated by CABGOC in Angola produce 1 bn cfpd.
"After the project to utilise the gas is completed, 95 % will be utilised, down from about 50 % early in the decade," Baltz said. He also said Chevron had already cut flares from 55 mm cfpd to 2 mm cfpd. All oil fields have to keep a minimum amount of flaring for safety reasons.

Projects that will see some of the funds include the Takula field, where flaring will be eliminated completely. Baltz said some of the gas will be piped to the Cabinda gas plant currently commissioned and destined for local power generation. Other projects in the pipeline will have gas re-injected into reservoirs to increase productivity. Some gas may end up at the Angola LNG project, however, Baltz said it will be a complex task.
"It is technically complex as we need to connect two wells that will go under the Congo River's canyon," Baltz said.