Angola's offshore Plutonio oilfield has resumed production after it was shut down for about 10 days for maintenance, according to industry sources.

The oilfield which is operated by BP, usually exports about 130,000 barrels per day. The field is located in the Greater Plutonio accumulation which in 1,200m to 1,500m of water, 160km northwest of Luanda in the Block 18 concession.

Originally, BP Angola and Shell Exploration and Production Angola BV operate Block 18's exploration permit under a production-sharing contract with Angola's state-owned oil company, Sociedade Nacional de Combustveis de Angola (Sonangol). At present, while BP still has a 50% interest in the block, which was acquired by Amoco in 1996 before its merger with BP, the other 50% is held by Sonangol Sinopec International, a joint venture between the Chinese and the Angolan state oil company.

Sonangol issued its initial November loading program on September 19 at 1.57 Mmbpd but the program did not include any Plutonio oil.

Angola exports between 1.7 million to 1.8 million bpd of oil averagely but loadings reached a 10-year low in October 2015 as a larger stream, Dalia, was experiencing maintenance.

According to a trading source, a fourth Plutonio cargo had been added to this October programme, Reuters reports.

Anita Fatunji