UPDATE 1-Angola says has 13.1 bln barrels of oil reserves

LUANDA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Angola has 13.1 billion barrels of oil in reserves, enough to sustain a constant production of 1.9 million barrels per day for the next 15 years, state-owned Jornal de Angola reported on Thursday.

Jornal de Angola quoted oil minister Botelho de Vasconcelos as saying Angola could pump 2.1 million barrels per day but its output capacity is currently limited because of the country's OPEC output quotas.

He did not say how much Angola was currently producing.

'We always take into account our production capacity and our reserves,' said Botelho de Vasconcelos, who is currently president of OPEC.

Traders say Angola has repeatedly pumped more oil than what it claims to be its 1.656 million barrel per day OPEC output target.

Angola would in the next 12 to 18 months begin liberalising its oil refining, storage, transportation and distribution businesses, all currently held by state-owned oil company Sonangol, Botelho de Vasconcelos said.

The move will pave the way for an end to gasoline subsidies which could trigger unrest among many Angolans who see such subsidies as one of the few direct benefits from living in one of Africa's top oil producers.

An estimated two-thirds of the country's 16.5 million people live on less than $2 a day, according to the World Bank.

Angola, which rivals Nigeria as Africa's biggest oil producer, expects to produce 1.9 million barrels of oil per day in 2010, up from an estimated 1.8 million barrels per day this year, according to the 2010 state budget plan.

Botelho de Vasconcelos said new offshore oilfields would start producing oil next year, adding however that the impact would only be felt in 2011.

(Reporting by Henrique Almeida; Editing by James Jukwey) (For more Africa cover visit: http://af.reuters.com -- To comment on this story email: [e-mail]) Keywords: ANGOLA OIL/ (Reuters messaging: [e-mail]; email: [e-mail]; tel [phone]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.