CAPE TOWN, July 23 (Reuters) - Angola's offshore CLOV

Phase 3 development started oil production on Wednesday, adding

30,000 barrels per day to the country's output, its national oil

and gas agency said.

Located in Block 17, the satellite project will be linked to

an existing floating production storage and offloading vessel

and will help Angola maintain its overall production above 1

million bpd, government and company officials said.

Sub-Saharan Africa's second-largest oil producer after

Nigeria, Angola has revamped its oil and gas regulations to

attract energy companies and help stabilise oil production that

has declined because of maturing fields since reaching a peak of

around 2 million bpd in 2008.

"This is good news for the country. First oil is always very

important," Paulino Jerónimo, chairman of the board of directors

of the National Agency for Oil, Gas, and Biofuels said in a

statement.

Block 17 is operated by TotalEnergies with a 38%

stake, together with Equinor ( EQNR ) (22.16% stake),

ExxonMobil ( XOM ) (19%), Azule Energy (15.84%) and Sonangol E&P

(5%).

(Reporting by Wendell Roelf;

Editing by Alexander Winning and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)