UPDATE 1-Angola oil output dips to under 2 mln bpd-Sonangol

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CAPE TOWN, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Angola's oil production has dipped to 1.959 million barrels per day after touching 2 million bpd earlier in 2008, a senior official with the state-run Sonangol oil firm said on Thursday.

"The production is about 1.959 million barrels per day," Sonangol chief geologist Francisco Lopes da Cunha said in a presentation at the Africa Upstream 2008 oil conference in Cape Town.

He cited production problems in one of the country's offshore oilfields for the drop, but added that output would return to the 2 million bdp mark within about three weeks.

Oil has been the backbone of an economic boom in Angola, which is rebuilding its infrastructure after a 27-year civil war that ended in 2002. Angola's government has encouraged foreign firms to invest in the oil sector.

American oil giant Chevron Corp. (CVX.N) is among the companies that have increased investments in Angola's oil sector. Chinese firms also have gained a foothold, with a series of deals backed by loans and credit from Beijing.

Offshore production, especially in the deeper waters off Angola's northern coast, will continue to be the mainstay of the country's oil output, which is expected to level off just over 2 million bpd before declining modestly after 2015, da Cunha said. (Reporting by Paul Simao; editing by James Jukwey)