(EnergyAsia, March 2 2012, Friday) — US major Chevron Corporation said its subsidiary, Chevron Nigeria Limited, has confirmed the start-up of oil production from the deepwater offshore Usan project in Nigeria.

Operated by Total E&P Nigeria Limited which owns a 20% stake, the project will utilise a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel with a storage capacity of two million barrels of oil and a maximum total daily production capacity of 180,000 barrels of crude oil.

Discovered in 2002, the Usan field is located approximately 100 km off the coast of the Niger Delta in water depths of about 750 metres. Production facilities include a floating production, storage and offloading vessel and ultimately 42 sub-sea wells.

Usan is being developed by a consortium comprising Total E&P Nigeria Limited (20%), Chevron Petroleum Nigeria Limited (30%), Esso E&P Nigeria (Offshore East) Limited (30%) and Nexen Petroleum Nigeria Limited (20%).

Chevron vice chairman George Kirkland said:

“Usan represents an important milestone in progressing Chevron’s queue of major capital projects. The project demonstrates our growth in West Africa, which is a leading global resource basin.”

Usan is Chevron’s second deepwater project in Nigeria after Agbami which started producing in 2008.

Chevron is operator and 67.3% owner of Agbami which is producing approximately 240,000 b/d of crude oil.

Another US major, ExxonMobil, said it is active in both shallow water shelf and deepwater acreage off Nigeria. It has interests in seven deepwater blocks, operates the producing Erha and Erha North fields and also produces from the co-venturer operated Bonga field.

In 2010, ExxonMobil’s net production in offshore Nigeria averaged 391,000 b/d.