French oil major Total SA (TOT) Monday said it has started production from its Akpo deep water natural gas and condensate development in Nigeria, in which it has a 24% stake, ahead of the planned start-up date.

Total said it expects to bring production to 175,000 barrels a day of condensate and 320 million standard cubic feet a day of gas by the summer of 2009.

Total is the operator of the OML 130 block, which contains Akpo. Its partners on the block are Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, South Atlantic Petroleum, CNOOC Ltd. (CEO) and Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR).

-By Adam Mitchell, Dow Jones Newswires, +33 1 4017 1756; adam.mitchell@dowjones.com