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Empresas y finanzas

Chevron Corp to explore oil offshore Sierra Leone


    (Reuters) - Chevron Corp said its unit would explore for oil in two deepwater blocks located offshore Sierra Leone.

    Oil exploration has been booming in West Africa but it is still unclear whether Sierra Leone, still recovering from a war that ended in 2002, has commercial quantities.

    The two blocks, SL-08A and SL-08B, are located between 75 and 110 miles southwest Sierra Leone's capital Freetown and cover a combined area of about 2,100 square miles. The blocks have average water depths ranging from 4,900 to 9,800 feet.

    CHEVRON (CVX.NY)will be the operator with a 55 percent interest, while Noble Energy will hold a 30 percent and Odye Ltd a 15 percent stake.

    Sierra Leone provisionally awarded contracts to 11 companies in July.

    (Reporting by Swetha Gopinath in Bangalore; Editing by Joyjeet Das)

    (swetha.gopinath@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780, outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: swetha.gopinath.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)