Assassinating Savimbi paid off big for the MPLA, didn't it? Who says crime doesn't pay, and that we don't honor terrorists?
NATURAL GAS
Angola has estimated natural gas reserves of 1.6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). New discoveries could push Angola's proven gas reserves to 9.5 Tcf, and possibly as high as 25 Tcf. The majority (approximately 85%) of gas produced in Angola is flared, the remainder is reinjected to aid in oil recovery and processed in the production of LPG. World Bank studies estimate that Angola accounts for 30% of the gas flared in Africa. The government is developing strategies to reduce gas flaring and increase commercial usage of natural gas. CABGOC has initiated two zero-flare fields, Nemba and Lomba, and plans to make Kuito the third.
ChevronTexaco and Sonangol have agreed to develop a LNG (liquefied natural gas) project that would convert natural gas from offshore oil fields to LNG for export. The facility will process natural gas from offshore Blocks 1, 2, 3, 4, 15, 16, 17, and 18. The facility, which will be located in Luanda adjacent to the existing refinery, will initially consist of one LNG train with a capacity to process 4 million tons per year of LNG. The site is sufficiently sized for the plant to expand to additional LNG trains. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2002, with the $2-billion LNG project in service by mid-2005. Sonangol and ChevronTexaco each initially held a 50% interest in the project, but it was announced in July 2001, that BP, ExxonMobil and TotalFinaElf were joining the consortium. The firms are the respective operators on Blocks 15, 17 and 18. ChevronTexaco will remain the LNG project's operator. The LNG project could spur the development of other gas-related projects including: gas-fired generation facilities in the Luanda area, industrial usage of gas as a fuel (plans call for the Luanda cement plant to convert to gas), and expanding the domestic market for LPG.
In the ol' days, they just burned off the oil-associated gas without a thought.