UPDATE 2-Angola oil sales slip but still Africa's biggest

* Crude exports to fall to 1.82 million bpd in November

* Angola still Africa's biggest oil producer

* Angolan exports to exceed OPEC production target again

LONDON, Sept 16 - Angola will sell slightly less oil in November than in October, trade data showed on Wednesday, but the holder of the OPEC presidency is still due to exceed its production target and will remain Africa's biggest oil producer.

Preliminary loading programmes from trade sources show the southwestern African country, still recovering from decades of civil war, will export 1.82 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude in November, down from a revised 1.93 million bpd scheduled to load in October.

Several crude oil production streams are set to load fewer cargoes, possibly because November is a slightly shorter month than October, but trade sources say Angola is still building up its oil capacity and futures production will be higher.

"They have more fields to bring on in the next six to nine months, so production is expected to increase," said Thomas Pearmain, African energy analyst at IHS Global Insight.

Angola is gradually building up its oil industry and its growing offshore oil sector is attracting billions in investment from oil majors in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Unlike fellow OPEC member Nigeria, Africa's second biggest producer, Angola is increasingly stable politically and socially.

Nigeria's oil industry has been hampered by a campaign of bombings and attacks by armed militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

TOMBUA-LANDANA

Data for Nigerian exports in November are not yet available but in October its sales overseas averaged around 1.78 million bpd. Several of its crude oilfields are pumping well below capacity due to attacks that have led to declarations of force majeure by operators, including Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Angola meanwhile is ramping up output on several fronts.

U.S. oil major Chevron Corp said last week it started pumping crude from its new Tombua-Landana project offshore Angola.

The Chevron-operated $3.8 billion development is 50 miles (80 km) offshore and is Chevron's largest project to begin producing oil in 2009, the company said.

"The new Tombua-Landana field which will eventually produce 100,000 bpd," said Pearmain at IHS Global Insight.

Oil traders and analysts say the rapid rise in Angolan oil output means it is routinely exceeding its production target.

Angola has said its output target set by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is 1.656 million bpd, but an OPEC internal document widely quoted by industry sources suggests Angola's output limit is 1.52 million bpd.

The preliminary programme indicates 57 cargoes of crude oil will be loaded onto ships in November, down from 62 cargoes in October, when planned exports hit a 2009 high.

Angola's crude oil exports approached 2 million bpd in the fourth quarter of 2008, before falling to 1.60 million bpd in February 2009 after OPEC agreed to cut output to support oil prices.

Since then oil prices have more than doubled from this year's low of $32.70 a barrel, encouraging OPEC members to reduce compliance with agreed output curbs. Angolan crude oil loading streams (no. cargoes/size) Grade Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul barrels

per cargo Cabinda 6 6 6 6 7 950,000 Dalia 8 9 8 7 6 950,000 Girassol 6 7 7 7 8 1,000,000 Hungo 6 6 7 7 7 950,000 Kissanje 6 7 7 7 6 950,000 Kuito 2 2 2 1 2 920,000 Mondo 2 4 3 3 3 950,000 Nemba 8 9^ 7 7 8 950,000 Palanca 2 2 2 3 2 985,000^ Plutonio 6 5 5 6 6 1,000,000 Saxi 3 4 3 2 3 950,000 Xicomba 1 1 0 1 1 950,000 Gimboa 1 1 1 0 1 950,000 Total Cargoes 57 63 58 57 60 Total Output* 1.82 1.93^ 1.76 1.86 1.79 * = millions of barrels per day ^ = revised