ExxonMobil starts Zikomba production

Exxon Mobil Corp. subsidiary Esso Exploration Angola Ltd. has started production of the Xikomba deepwater development offshore Angola in block 15. Xikomba is the company's first production on block 15 and represents the first of several operated production facilities offshore Angola.

Located in the northwest corner of Angola block 15, 230 mi northwest of Luanda in 4,850 ft of water, Xikomba employs an early production system (EPS) consisting of nine subsea wells tied back to a floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Xikomba is the third deployment of ExxonMobil's EPS technology offshore West Africa and the first EPS offshore Angola.
The Xikomba field was discovered in 1999 and has estimated recoverable resources of 100 MMbbl of oil with a target production of 80,000 b/d.

Participants in block 15 include operator Esso 40%, BP Exploration Ltd. 26.7%, Agip Angola Exploration BV 20%, and Statoil Angola 13.3 %.

12/05/03