Posted on 04/05/2005 10:16:22 PM PDT by Righty_McRight
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Oil giant ChevronTexaco Corp. is looking to invest between $5 billion and $6 billion US in a heavy crude oil project in Venezuela's Orinoco tar belt this year, a company official said.
"We're hoping to start basic investment in late 2005," Ali Moshimi, president of the company's Latin America upstream projects, told reporters. Spain's Repsol YPF and Chevron announced last week plans for a joint project to refine extra-heavy crude from the tar belt in eastern Venezuela into synthetic crude. The fuel would then be transported through a new regional pipeline.
Chevron holds a 30 per cent stake in a project in the Orinoco, but the upcoming project will be the first heavy oil venture for Repsol in Venezuela.
Norwegian oil company Statoil and France's Total hope to begin a similar project this year, and Royal Dutch Shell Group is also interested in a heavy crude venture with state-run Petroleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA, in the area.
Venezuela's government is entitled by law to at least a 51 per cent stake in any new upstream oil projects.
Moshimi said Chevron has found "commercially viable" natural gas supplies in the Deltana Platform off Venezuela's eastern coast, where it recently finished its first well.
Moshimi said the company expects to begin exporting liquefied natural gas as early as this year. He added that the company expects to invest $400 million in Venezuela this year, which equals the firm's investments in 2004.
Chavez wouldn't dare nationalize. He would be out of there quicker than Noriega.
I guess better ChevronTexaco than the ChiComs.
Remember this when you hear Alaskans tell you we don't tax the oil companies enough.
Ping
With chavez as a business partner, their stock doesn't seem very attractive.
Back during Carter's term, the US financed oil shale and tar sands demonstration projects. Union Oil built one at Parachute Creek, Colorado.
Extracting liquid transportation fuels from coal was done by Hitler, and continues by Sasol in South Africa.
It was reported a couple of years ago that Alberta province has MORE hydrocarbons, than Saudi Arabia, in the form of oil shale, and tar sands.
The US has huge reserves in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.
Crude at $50+ per barrel is coming close to making projects feasible, financially. Canada has been doing them, for some time.
Kansas/Missouri border area as well. The "tar" is akin to gear lube-even thicker in some cases. I'd rather see Chevron come up here than spend another dime on anti-American rats like Chavez!
http://www.worldenergy.org/wec-geis/publications/default/tech_papers/17th_congress/3_1_04.asp
http://www.radford.edu/~wkovarik/oil/
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