February 12, 2005
Total says seeks latest Venezuela heavy oil deal.

(Reuters) - "French oil major Total wants to build a new $5 billion project to produce extra heavy oil from Venezuela's Orinoco region, the company's president said.

'We would like to start a new project with state oil firm PDVSA that we would call Sincor 2,' Thierry Desmarest told reporters after a meeting with Venezuela's Vice President José Vicente Rangel.

'This project would represent an investment of around $5 billion over a period of seven years,' he added.

Total is already partnered with PDVSA and Norway's Statoil in the first Sincor project, which upgrades 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of extra heavy Orinoco crude into 180,000 bpd of lighter, 'synthetic' crude.

Desmarest did not specify how much a second Sincor would produce, but project officials have previously said it could pump similar volumes. He said the company is just beginning talks with PDVSA for the second project (...)

Venezuela's government hopes to increase oil production, including output from foreign firms, over the next four years as part of an agressive investment campaign (...)".