Joint venture Petrovictoria started oil production in Orinoco Oil Belt

Caracas, 07 Jun. AVN.- Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA has added to its production the first oil barrel from the joint venture Petrovictoria, formed in partnership with the Russian oil company Rosneft, in a well located in south Monagas state in the Orinoco Oil Belt Hugo Chavez.

Petrovictoria's CHV-02 well began operations with a volume of 800 barrels a day in an early stage. This crude will be processed using existing production lines of the Belt's Bloque Carabobo, which shares operations with the joint venture Petromonagas, also formed in alliance with Russia.

The oil extraction operations of this joint venture, of which Venezuela reserves 60% of the shares, are carried out at the facilities of Macolla A, Bloque Carabobo 2 Norte (C2N), according to a PDVSA's press release.

The Venezuelan state-owned company plans to develop, through Petrovictoria, the proven reserves in the blocks Carabobo 2 Norte and Carabobo 4 Oeste, estimated at 15,5 million barrels, with the construction of 33 basic units of production construction and the drilling of 571 wells with an average production of 700 barrels per day each, for a total of 400,000 barrels per day.

Petrovictoria aims to explore and produce crude oil and natural gas in the Carabobo Division; which is the block of greatest production and growth within the Orinoco Belt, a strategic area that has the largest oil reserves on the planet.

The agreement to set up this joint venture was signed by PDVSA and Russia-owned oil firm Rosneft OJSC in May 2013.

Rosneft holds a minority stake in the joint ventures Petrovictoria, Petromonagas and Petromiranda, in the Orinoco Oil Belt, as well as in the joint ventures Boqueron and Petroperija, located in Zulia state.