Repsol-ONGC consortium secures big oilfield in Venezuela
11 Feb 2010
Caracas, Venezuela: India's energy giant, the Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has won a joint bid to develop a crude oil block in Venezuela's Orinoco Belt as part of a consortium with Spain's Repsol and Malaysia's Petronas. Indian Oil Corp and Oil India Ltd, are other minor stakeholders in the block.
Orinoco Belt - Image: Conoco Phillips |
Carabobo block 1 is a vast area that holds an estimated 235 billion barrels of reserves of heavy and ultra-heavy oil.
The consortium offered state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) a 1.05-billion-dollar loan and a bond of the same amount.
Chevron was awarded Carabobo block 3, with Japan's Impex and Mistubishi alongside Venezuelan firm Suelopetrol, Ramirez said. The Chevron consortium offered PDVSA a billion-dollar loan, and will pay a bond of 500 million dollars.
Block 2 was not awarded and could be on offer "during another procedure," Ramirez said.