Angola is sub-Saharan Africa's largest oil producer after Nigeria, exporting more of 800,000 barrels of oil per day and delivering more crude oil to the US than Kuwait.[1] The first such joint ventures were established with the three foreign oil companies which had been working in Angola prior to independence from Portugal (1975): the Cabinda Gulf Oil Company (CABGOC), a joint venture operated by Gulf Oil which subsequently became a subsidiary of Chevron; Texaco and Petrofina.[4] Chevron has been in this African nation since the 1930s, when Texaco products were first marketed in Angola. In 1958 the Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited drilled its first onshore well and in March 1984, Cabinda Gulf Oil was taken over by Chevron. In 1986, additional exploration by Chevron coincided with the delineation of Angola’s Block 0 and in the 2012, the company reached an impressive milestone in Angola: 4 billion barrels produced from Block 0, offshore Cabinda [3] [6].  Cabinda is a small enclave, physically separated from the rest of Angola by a narrow strip of land which gives the Democratic Republic of Congo access to the Atlantic Coast. Since the 1960s a small separatist movement, the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (Frente de Libertacao do Enclave de Cabinda – FLEC), and a number of splinter groups, have fought a low intensity guerrilla war, first against the Portuguese and subsequently against the MPLA ( a social fabric), to win independence for Cabinda. Consequently  the Angola civil war intersects with secessionist conflict in which the role of oil  it’s quite clear: Cabinda is Angola’s most oil-rich province, accounting for 60 to 70 per cent per cent of the country’s total current production and nearly all of its foreign-exchange oil earnings (EIU 2001). Obviously the government does’t want to lose this province. [4] Chevron and its Angolan subsidiary exploit one of the largest oil and gas offshore in the world, in Takula, off the coast of Cabinda. Their platforms are equipped with the latest technology for deepwater drilling.  Chevron's operations have been repeatedly blamed for oil spills by the local press and environmental activists. In 1999 an oil spill near the Malonga oil base dealt a severe blow to the struggling local fishing industry. Oil giant Chevron-Texaco gave about $2000 to 10 percent of the affected fishermen. Flaring, hydraulic fracturing, use of dispersants have also dramatically decreased ecological productivity in the region.

Angola was the first African nation to impose a fine on a company operating in its waters; in June 2002 the ministry for the environment and fisheries said in a statement that a spill earlier from ChevronTexaco's offshore platforms in northwest Angola polluted beaches and forced fishermen to stop work. A government investigation in May and June found that the spills were the result of leaks from poorly maintained pipes ad obsolete tubing used to transport crude from the platforms. Consequently the Country in June 2002 has fined ChevronTexaco $2m (£1.3m) for causing environmental damage  and the fine was handed down as Chevron met President Fradique de Menezes of Sao Tomea, a small island nation off Angola's coast, to discuss oil exploration. Chevron has promised to invest $108m replacing the pipes [1]. However, the independent Cabinda radio reported on 9 March 2004 that Giant Oil Company Chevron has denied responsibility for an oil spill that has affected fishing near all its operations in the occupied Cabinda Republic. Radio Ecclesia, Catholic broadcasting station of Angola, reported Chevron Africa spokesman Timeteo de Almeida as saying: "Giant Chevron investigated and said the stain near all its operation was oil and plants coming from the Congo River". [6] There was confirmation of how big the spill was, and a local fishing commission told Radio Eclessia it had affected all local catches. Fishermen told the fishing commission they had been denied use of all nearby beaches by intimidating Chevron Security Services and that Chevron military helicopters with the help of american mercenaries had allegedly spread a substance on the water, the same material reportedly used on another Chevron spill in the same areas in December 1999 and July 1998. Chevron paid 200 local fishermen affected by the 1999 spill $150 each. Another 350 fishermen have sued Chevron for damages but the case is still pending, and going no where. [6] Consequently to control the onshore oil facilities and gold mining ventures, in the center of the province  are prevalent private and well-armed security firms. [5]In fact according to a report by Human Rights Watch, there has been, in Cabinda, a "disturbing pattern of human rights violations by the Angolan armed forces and state intelligence officials. Between September 2007 and March 2009, at least 38 people were arbitrarily arrested by the military in Cabinda and accused of state security crimes. Most were subjected to lengthy incommunicado detention, torture, and cruel or inhumane treatment in military custody and were denied due process rights".[2]  In January 2010, Cabindans,  including lawyers, members of the Church and human rights activists, have expressed concern that human rights abuses will increase. This would not be difficult for the Angolan authorities to organize: they have one of the most powerful armies in Africa.  [2]

In 2009, Offshore magazine selected Tombua-Landana, a Chevron's well in Cabinda, as one of the five most notable projects in the world. That year, the $3.8 billion project began production. The deepwater project includes 46 wells and has the fourth-highest compliant, or flexible, tower in the world. [3]