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FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
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INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 000127 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF FRONT OFFICE AND AF/S 
USAID FOR AFR/SA IMACNARIN AND ELOKEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2017 
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID EPET PARM AO
SUBJECT: DAS CAROL THOMPSON VISIT TO CABINDA CHEVRON OIL 
PLATFORM AND MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 
 
REF: A. LUANDA 104 
 
     ¶B. LUANDA 110 
 
Classified By: Amb. Cynthia Efird for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  During AF DAS Carol Thompson,s visit to 
Angola,s oil-rich exclave of Cabinda, she traveled to 
Chevron,s state of the art offshore deep water production 
and drilling platform and spoke at the launch of the 
USAID/Chevron-partnered Municipal Development Project, an 
innovative program designed to give Angolan citizens and 
community groups an increased say in the planning and 
delivery of municipal services.  End Summary. 
 
Chevron Production and Drilling Platform 
----------------------------------------- 
¶2. (SBU) On January 31, 2007, AF DAS Carol Thompson visited 
Chevron,s Benguela-Belize Lobito-Tomboco platform (BBLT), 
which simultaneously drills for and produces oil ) over 
100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of the 500,000 bpd Chevron 
produces in Angola.  BBLT is the fifth tallest structure in 
the world (mostly underwater) and is a state of the art 
facility in deepwater oil production.  Eighty-five percent of 
the employees working at BBLT are Angolans. 
 
¶3. (U) BBLT is a key element in linked Chevron operations in 
Cabinda.  Undersea pipes carry oil and gas from numerous 
offshore wells to the onshore Malongo light oil tank farm. 
Heavy oil is piped to a floating storage ship, which fills a 
million-barrel tanker every three days.  The offshore Sanha 
gas processing factory injects gas from several offshore 
platforms into a depleted oil field.  Chevron has invested 
USD 3.9 billion just in BBLT and Sanha.  When Angola,s 
liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant goes into operation, the 
gas now being stored will be recovered for processing. 
Chevron operations are environmentally neutral. 
 
Public-Private Partnership in Action 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) DAS Thompson and Joao Mesquita, Vice Governor of 
Cabinda Province, spoke at the launch of Cabinda,s Municipal 
Development Program (MDP), before an audience of provincial 
officials, NGO representatives, Cabindan citizens and the 
press.  The USAID program is co-sponsored by Chevron in 
Cabinda and will be implemented by the Development Workshop 
NGO on behalf of a consortium led by CARE.  It aims to 
increase public and government cooperation to create improved 
services delivery.  The program includes the development of 
municipal profiles, which assist planning by mapping social 
indicators.  (Note:  This project will also be implemented in 
Cuando Cubango, Bie, Lunda Norte and Huambo Provinces. 
Lazare Kaplan International (LKI) will be the project,s 
corporate sponsor in the diamond producing Lunda Norte 
Province, Chevron in the other provinces.  End note.)  Deputy 
governor Joao Mesquita,s acknowledged the importance of 
community groups in creating basic services which would, in 
turn, broaden economic opportunities for Cabinda. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Robert Jan Bulten of CARE confirmed that CARE had 
equivalent teams in each of the five MDP provinces.  One 
audience member commented that while Cabinda is less 
developed than other parts of Angola, the community 
involvement in municipal planning could make it a model for 
the rest of the country. 
 
Cabinda: Translating Oil Resources to Social Gain 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
¶6. (SBU) Angola,s northernmost province, Cabinda, borders 
Congo-Brazzaville and the DROC, separated by roughly 25 kms 
from the main body of Angola.  Cabinda city is more town than 
thriving city; for example, only the streets in the central 
area are paved.  Under a 1994 law, the Cabindan provincial 
government receives ten percent of the taxes on oil revenues 
from oil produced in Cabinda. This amounts roughly to about 
one percent of the oil revenues or several million dollars 
per month.  Chevron,s modest two-story headquarters will be 
an urban landmark when completed. 
 
¶7. (C) The Cabindan Peace Accord appears to have produced a 
sense of calm in the city.  While there have been recent 
unconfirmed reports of a few skirmishes between Angolan Armed 
Forces (FAA) and insurgents in the province, there was no 
feeling of unease or signs of violence in the city.  Chevron 
also told us that it has the best capacity for air evacuation 
and air transport, as well as emergency medical service, in 
Cabinda and in the past it had been called upon to help 
provide medical treatment to victims of FAA-insurgent 
clashes.  This has not occurred during the last year.  In 
 
LUANDA 00000127  002 OF 002 
 
 
fact, one Chevron employee in the group observed that 
conditions in Cabinda had improved such that Chevron 
employees are now permitted to travel into town in an 
unescorted vehicle whereas a year ago this was not allowed. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment:  Cabinda,s provincial government has been 
criticized for the quality of its governance, and appears to 
view the MDP as an opportunity to manage potential discontent 
by identifying and acting on the priority concerns of its 
citizens.  It has also been criticized for not having more to 
show (roads and infrastructure) given its oil income.  That 
addition income should provide the provincial government with 
some budgetary independence in developing such an interactive 
program.  End Comment. 
 
¶9. (U) DAS Thompson has cleared this cable. 
EFIRD