FACTBOX-Angola plans surge in oil output
Nov 9 (Reuters) - Angola's oil industry is booming as investment increases after the end of three decades of war and oil industry officials say crude oil production could increase by as much as two thirds over the next five years.
Following are some key facts about the country's oil industry and a brief overview of some major oil developments in the pipeline until 2015.
OIL RESERVES
* Angola has probable oil reserves of 13-19 billion barrels, analysts say, giving it the third largest hydrocarbon resources in Africa behind Libya with 40-45 billion barrels and Nigeria with reserves of 35-40 billion barrels. But a relatively stable political environment and increasing security are attracting billion of dollars of foreign investment and the rate of discovery of new oilfields is outpacing many of its rivals.
OIL PRODUCTION
* Angolan crude oil output exceeded 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) in October when it briefly overtook Nigeria as Africa's largest oil producer and production has averaged just under 1.8 million bpd this year.
* Multinational oil companies Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM.N), Total SA (TOTF.PA), Chevron Corp (CVX.N), BP (BP.L) and Eni (ENI.MI) all have major projects coming on stream between 2011 and 2015 that could add up to 1.2 million bpd of new production.
* Based on existing projects, expected rates of decline of older oilfields, and even without new discoveries, these new developments would take oil production to between 2.5 million and 3 million bpd over the next five years.
NEW LICENSING ROUND
* A new round of bids for oil exploration and production licences will be held "in the near future", Angolan Oil Minister Botelho de Vasconcelos said on Oct. 28. Manuel Vicente, the head of state-owned oil company Sonangol, told Reuters on Sept. 10 a new oil bidding round should take place at the end of 2010.
* All the big upstream oil producing companies now in Angola are expected to participate in the next round; several operators, including Norwegian state-controlled oil company Statoil (STL.OL), have said they are keen to take part.
* Upstream oil analysts say the new round will almost certainly lead to a rash of fresh discoveries over the next few years, further increasing capacity.
