Venezuela: a goal of increasing oil production in 2012: Bluff or reality?

Venezuela announced Wednesday the establishment of a plan to increase 40% crude oil production in the oil of the Orinoco Belt. Stated aim: to bring domestic production to 3.5 million b / d in 2012.

"We're following a plan that will increase the national production" at 3.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2012, an increase mainly based on the contribution of 470,000 barrels of oil produced in the belt” , has announced to the press on oil minister, Rafael Ramirez.

Currently, the country produces 3 million barrels daily by governing bodies. Purpose of the ad: certainly attract investors. The transition from 1.16 million bpd to over 1.6 million bpd, which must necessarily involve the companies twenty countries involved in the activities of oil production in this region.

According to official figures, Venezuela in 2011 produced an average of three million bpd. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for its part says that the supply of the country's gross $ 2.3 million bpd. According to the cartel, Venezuela has the largest world oil reserves, with 296,500 million barrels, ahead of Saudi Arabia.

Recall that in 2007, President Hugo Chavez ordered the nationalization of oil resources through the establishment of joint ventures in which foreign companies are in the minority, the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA public to hold a minimum of 60% of assets.

The Orinoco Belt, one of the largest deposits in the world, is operated mostly by lPDVSA. The latter are currently pumping 1.15 million barrels per day (bpd).

A development plan production areas in Carabobo and Junin, which are currently extracts 430,000 and 265,000 bpd, is underway. The work should be completed by June, with the ultimate aim to achieve in a December 2012 production of 20,000 bpd for each additional zone. Further research is being funded by foreign companies.