Oil Major Total Close to Angola Kaombo Decision

French oil major Total is on the verge of making a final investment decision on Angola's Kaombo oil project after lowering the cost by $4 billion, its chief executive said on Friday.

"We're on the verge," Christophe de Margerie told reporters on the sidelines of an oil conference in Paris.

A final investment decision on the Angolan oil project it operates had been delayed repeatedly because of the large costs related to the ultra-deep offshore project

The field is expected to produce 230,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with a start-up date expected in 2017.

Sonangol P&P has a 30 percent stake in the project, Sonangol Sinopec International has 20 percent, ExxonMobil's Esso unit holds 15 percent and Total owns the remaining 30 percent.

(Reporting by Michel Rose; editing by John Irish)