Venezuela: Set to choose partner for Carabobo joint venture by the end of the year
Venezuela to choose partner for Carabobo
Venezuela could select its joint-venture partner to develop three multi-billion-dollar heavy oil projects in the Carabobo region of the Orinoco belt by the end of the year, an official said today.
The estimated investment required for the project was expected to be more than $6 billion, said Eulogio Del Pino, head of exploration and production of state oil giant PDVSA.
"We require a condition of financing from the equity partners (selected)," Del Pino told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference.
"This is a very good opportunity for international oil companies to have access to a huge amount of reserves, more than four billion barrels of reserves."
The Carabobo region will be able to produce as much as 400,000 barrels per day for at least 25 years, Del Pino said.
The company selected for the partership with PDVSA, will in return receive a 40% stake in the joint-venture company where operations of the crude oilfields will be shared, he said.
PDVSA is expecting its joint-venture partner to provide between 70 and 75% financing for the development of these fields, Del Pino said.
Participating oil majors, including BP, Chevron , Shell, Norway's StatoilHydro and France's Total, will bid for minority stakes in joint ventures with Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.
Other bidders include Malaysia's Petronas, Portugal's Galp and a consortium of unspecified Russian companies, possibly including Lukoil and Gazprom, said a Reuters report.