April 7, 2005
PDVSA may partner foreign companies in development of Venezuela's Tomoporo field

(WMRC Daily Analysis) - "Eulogio Delphino and Luis Vierma, two members of the PDVSA board of directors, said that the state oil company is considering allowing foreign companies to participate in the development of the Tomoporo field in Lake Maracaibo in the west of the country, according to reports by Reuters and Dow Jones.

Although PDVSA initially indicated that there would be opportunities for third-party participation in development of the Tomoporo field, it subsequently decided to develop the Tomoporo field on its own. News that it changed its mind follows expressions of interest in the field by a number of foreign companies (.)

The Tomoporo field in the west of the country is considered to be an important prospect for new production and is being targeted under PDVSA's 2004-09 Business Plan. The field is thought to contain 1 billion barrels of recoverable reserves, most of them medium-grade oil. The completion of two new wells at the field in March 2005 raised total production from the field to over 100,000 b/d. The state oil company hopes to achieve output of over 250,000 b/d at the Tomoporo field by 2008 (.)".