Hoarding is exactly what the government is doing right now by filling the SPR, and frankly it's the best thing that could happen. It drives prices up. High prices encourage demand destruction. They also finance new well development. The hoarded oil gives us a buffer to fall back on once shortages become more prevalent. High prices are what we need in order to adapt to what's coming, and the sooner they happen, the better.
Joined: Mar 23, 2005 Posts: 178 Location: SW Ct SW Va
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:16 pm Post subject: Venezuelan Reserves
Found this for the Orinoco Belt ..
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's state-oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. will conduct a two-year survey to certify the total reserves held in the oil-rich Orinoco tar belt.
The survey will begin this year and examine each of the 27 oil blocks in the area, a needed step before the government decides which companies will develop them in coming years, Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said late Friday.
"We will conduct a comprehensive geological study to assure the best utilization of the oil resources," Ramirez said.
The state oil firm, commonly known as PDVSA, plans to conduct reserve surveys on its own to study 14 blocks, while the rest will be examined by foreign companies.
The companies include Brazil's Petrobras, India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp., China National Petroleum Corp., Iran's Petropers, Russia's Lukoil and Gazprom, as well as Spain's Repsol YPF.
Ramirez said no decision has been made as to which companies will develop the various fields.
Venezuela now has four heavy crude upgrading projects in the Orinoco region which produce as much as 600,000 barrels a day of synthetic crude.
The Orinoco projects are run by joint ventures of PDVSA with France's Total S.A., and Norway's Statoil ASA, as well as Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips, Chevron Corp. and BP PLC.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez late last week renamed the four Orinoco upgrading projects, giving them the names of historic battles in Venezuelan history.
Venezuela looks to increase oil output to 5 million barrels a day by the end of the decade, with around 1 million new barrels coming from the Orinoco area, the largest hydrocarbons deposit on the planet.
Venezuela claims the Orinoco holds 235 billion barrels of oil reserves, and plans to add those extra-heavy crude reserves to its 78 billion barrels of conventional oil reserves.
With those unconventional reserves included, Venezuela would surpass Saudi Arabia as the nation with the world's largest reserves.
313 billion barrels total reserves
Expected production of 5 million bpd by 2010
or 1.825 billion barrels per year ..
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