Angola's President Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, at the United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
INTERNATIONAL - Agogo1 well, which was discovered last March in offshore Angola, will kickstart oil production in December, Claudi Descalzi, CEO of Italian-based oil company ENI, told reporters here on Tuesday.

Speaking at the end of a meeting with Angolan President Joao Lourenco, Descalzi said other specific oil and gas projects in northern Cabinda Norte Bloc 1/14 are already under operation.

The Italian-based oil company manager also discussed issues related to the multinational's investments in the oil and gas sector with the Angolan president, and briefed him on ENI's business in the southern African country while helping to tackle climate change.

Descalzi also described to Lourenco ENI's integrated Local Development Program (LDP), which aims at providing communities with efficient and sustainable access to energy, drinking water, forest conservation, agriculture, education and training.

During the meeting, the two also discussed the ongoing collaboration between ENI and Sonangol to increase the efficiency of the Luanda refinery and support the development of gasoline production plants to progressively cut reliance on imports. ENI operates two oil development projects in Bloc 15/06, the West Pole and the East Pole, and is also an operator of the country's onshore Cabinda Norte Bloc.

A press release posted Tuesday on ENI's webpage stated that it will promote LDPs within all the oil contracts it operates in Angola, applying an internationally recognized approach in line with the strategies to fight climate change and with the United Nations 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals.

Angola is a key country in ENI's organic growth strategy. The company has had operations in this country since 1980 and its production in Angola currently stands at about 145,000 barrels per day.

XINHUA