Chevron venture spending $ 2.3 bn to cut flaring in Angola
Chevron's Cabinda joint venture is spending $ 2.3 bn over five years to reduce flaring -- the burning of natural gas
from oil fields -- and instead utilize the gas, a top company official said this month.
The disclosure comes as foreign oil companies are increasingly investing to monetize the gas that used to burn in
their African fields, driven by higher gas prices and environmentalists' demands.
During a visit at the Chevron compound in Angola's Cabinda enclave, John Baltz, Chevron's Southern Africa production
manager, said though the spending is designed to be financially sound, "it isn't solely an economic project" but also
a corporate responsibility effort. In particular, he said it will "reduce emissions for Chevron's corporate
targets."
Some of the projects covered by the $ 3.2 bn budget are already in operation while others have yet to be completed.
Chevron is the operator and 39.2 % shareholder of the venture, which also comprises state oil company Sonangol with
41 %, Total with 10 % and ENI with 9.8 %.
The oil fields operated by Chevron in Cabinda generate 1 bn cf of gas a day.
