French oil company Total has decided to go ahead with its Kaombo oil project offshore Angola after lowering its cost by $4 billion to $16 billion.

The decision to invest in the deep sea project has been repeatedly delayed because of its cost. In recent years a number of other large-scale projects around the world have fallen victim to moves by big oil company to draw in their investment horns and return cash to shareholders.

The ultra-deep field will have a production capacity of 230,000 barrels per day, for a start-up date in 2017, Total said.

Tags: Total