Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) subsidiary, Chevron Overseas (Congo) Ltd., has commenced 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 105 km (65 miles) offshore in about 900 m (3,000 ft) 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.

“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 Co.

The field, discovered in 2004, includes a subsea production system and a 43 km (27 mile) 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) Ltd. is operator of the Lianzi Field and has a 15.75 percent interest, along with its affiliate Cabinda Gulf Oil Co. Ltd. (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).