MOSCOW, July 2 (RIA Novosti) – Venezuela’s national oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) and Russia’s state-owned oil-and-gas giant Rosneft on Tuesday signed an agreement to jointly develop extensive offshore deposits in South America.
Venezuelan Oil Minister and PDVSA head Rafael Ramirez, who attended the signing ceremony, said the deal envisaged joint work on five gas blocks off Venezuela, including the Mariscal Sucre project and the Blanquilla and Tortuga deposits, with their total reserves estimated at 21 trillion cubic feet.
“Investment in Mariscal Sucre alone will total at least $5 billion,” he said.
Gazprombank, which is affiliated with Russian energy giant Gazprom, said Tuesday that it had signed a deal with Venezuela’s PDVSA to invest $1 billion in their joint venture, PetroSamora.
“Today an agreement has been signed on the basic terms of financing a contract for crude oil production and delivery, with total financing at $1 billion,” said Gazprombank deputy CEO Alexander Muranov.
PetroSamora was established in February 2012 to develop deposits in the oil belt of the Orinoco River, which has one of the world’s largest oil reserves, estimated at 86.4 billion barrels.
Venezuela holds 60 percent in PetroSamora, while Gazprombank holds 40 percent.
