Repsol discovers one of the world’s largest gas find off Venezuela
12 Sep 2009
Spain's biggest oil company, Repsol YPF SA, said yesterday that it has made a massive gas discovery off Venezuela, the largest in the South America and one of the biggest in the world.
The offshore site located in the Gulf of Venezuela called Cardon 4 at the exploration block Rafael Urdaneta, may hold between 7 trillion and 8 trillion cubic feet of gas, which can supply Spain for more than five years, the company said in a statement.
Currently visiting Spain, Hugo Chávez, Venezuela's combative leftist president, first made the announcement in an interview with Spain's daily newspaper El Pais yesterday after meeting with Repsol chairman Antoni Brufau.
"At the rate at which we are making certified scientific discoveries, Venezuela's gas reserves will put us among the five world giants of gas," Chavez told the paper.
Repsol, in partnership with Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni and Venezuelan state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) had been exploring the block since 2006.
Repsol and Eni had successfully bid $34.4 million for the Cardon 4 block in 2005, where Repsol and Eni hold 32.5 per cent stake each in future production, while the remaining 35 per cent is with PDVSA.
