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Orinoco projects 'producing 500,000 bpd'



By Upstream staff 

Photo by Reuters


Venezuela's four Orinoco belt heavy crude projects are producing 500,000 barrels per day compared with 482,000 bpd in May, PDVSA vice president Luis Vierma said today.

"The four upgraders today are currently close to half a million barrels per day, the goal is to reach 600,000 barrels per day," Reuters reported Vierma told reporters.

The four Orinoco belt projects can produce around 630,000 bpd of tar-like crude and upgrade it into around 570,000 bpd of lighter synthetic oil. Vierma did not specify when the projects would reach the 600,000 bpd goal.

He said Venezuela's total production as of today was 3.07 million bpd.

Venezuela this year imposed Opec cuts on the four projects, slashing their output by over 100,000 bpd amid negotiations for a state takeover of the four projects by leftist President Hugo Chavez.

PDVSA took over the projects' operations on 1 May and within two weeks said Orinoco belt production had increased to 482,000 bpd.

Venezuelan Energy Minister and PDVSA president Rafael Ramirez said in early July the Orinoco belt was producing 418,000 bpd.

The exact output of the Orinoco projects has been difficult to determine, since PDVSA officials have provided figures without specifying whether the figures refer to upgraded crude or heavy oil.

The Orinoco belt also includes a fifth joint venture that produces extra-heavy oil, and officials rarely clarify how much it produces and whether this production is included in the totals.

Energy authorities originally said they had imposed Opec cuts of 138,000 bpd on the Orinoco belt, but in June said this figure was 195,000 bpd.

US supermajor ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips in June decided to leave the country after they failed to reach a deal for PDVSA to take majority stakes in their Orinoco investments.

Four other companies, BP, Chevron, France's Total and Norway's Statoil, stayed on as minority partners in the projects.


Wednesday, 18 July, 2007, 20:11 GMT  | last updated: Wednesday, 18 July, 2007, 23:58 GMT

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