Angola sends first gas export to Brazil

LUANDA (AFP) - Angola announced Sunday it has started producing and exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG), with a first shipment departing from the northwestern Soyo fields to Brazil.

"Angola LNG is entering the market at an exciting time," said Artur Pereira, the spokesman for Angola LNG.

Transaction details about the 160,000 m3 shipment were not revealed, but the company said purchase agreements with numerous energy companies across the world had been reached.

"The world LNG market is expected to remain tight over the coming years, with very limited new LNG capacity coming on-stream. We are delighted to be producing and shipping our first LNG cargo," Pereira said in a statement.

Angola LNG said it plans to produce 5.2 million tonnes of LNG a year from the Soyo plant.

The company is a joint venture between the state-owned oil and gas company Sonangol, Chevron, BP, ENI and Total. The project has an expected life span of at least 30 years.

Chairman of Angola LNG Antonio Orfao said the country plans to become a "reliable and competitive supplier of gas" providing clean energy.

The resource-rich Angola is also the second-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria, but despite its wealth, two-thirds of the population live on under $2 a day, following a 27-year civil war which ended in 2002.

Oil revenues have helped the country grow at nearly ten percent a year over the past decade.