Chevron’s subsidiary, Chevron Overseas (Congo) Limited, has started oil and gas production from the Lianzi Field, located in a unitized offshore zone between the Republic of Congo and the Republic of Angola.

Located 65 miles (105 km) offshore in approximately 3,000 feet (900 meters) of water, Lianzi is Chevron’s first operated asset in the Republic of Congo and the first cross-border oil development project offshore Central Africa. The project is expected to produce an average of 40,000 barrels of crude oil per day, the company said.

“This milestone demonstrates that we continue to make steady progress on delivering major development projects,” said Jay Johnson, executive vice president Upstream, Chevron Corporation. “We have the industry’s strongest queue of major capital projects that are expected deliver significant value and production growth.”

“As the first offshore energy development spanning national boundaries in the Central Africa region, Lianzi represents a unique cooperative approach to share offshore resources and may serve as a model for the development of similar cross-border fields between two countries,” said Ali Moshiri, president of Chevron Africa and Latin America Exploration and Production Company.

The field, discovered in 2004, includes a subsea production system and a 27 mile (43 km) electrically heated flowline system, the first of its kind at this water depth. The system transports the oil from the field to the Benguela Belize–Lobito Tomboco platform in Angola’s Block 14 and utilizes a Direct Electrical Heating (DEH) system to ensure fluid flow under a wide range of conditions.

Chevron Overseas (Congo) Limited is operator of the Lianzi Field and has a 15.75 percent interest, along with its affiliate Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited (15.5 percent), Total E&P Congo (26.75 percent), Angola Block 14 BV (10 percent), Eni (10 percent), Sonangol P&P (10 percent), SNPC (the Republic of Congo National Oil Company - 7.5 percent), and GALP (4.5 percent).