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Venezuela poised to announce offshore gas fields bidding round
PLATTS
CARACAS
Petroleumworld.com 06 01 06
Venezuela is planning to shortly announce a bidding round for offshore
natural gas fields, an official at state oil company PDVSA said late
Wednesday.
"There are several fields that will enable us to boost our offshore
reserves through exploration and certification," PDVSA Director Eulogio Del
Pino told reporters on the sidelines of the OPEC ministerial meeting in
Caracas. The bidding round will be announced "very soon," he added.
The fields to be auctioned include Punta Pescador and Blanquilla among
others, all off Venezuela's northeastern coast in Caribbean waters.
Blanquilla has an estimated 10 Tcf and Carupano, which has also been
mentioned by authorities as a likely candidate for private exploration, has
around 16 Tcf, according to PDVSA figures.
The bidding round follows the award of five gas blocks in the Rafael
Urdaneta area off Venezuela's northwestern coast late last year and three
blocks in the Deltana Platform in waters near Trinidad in 2003.
Venezuela has an estimated 150 Tcf in reserves, with two-thirds of those
in offshore fields.
Platts 31 05 06
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