June
11, 2004
Private firms to boost Venezuela's
2005 oil output
(Reuters) - "Private oil companies
operating in Venezuela plan to increase their
combined output in 2005 by 20 percent, or 200,000
barrels per day (bpd), the Venezuelan Hydrocarbons
Association (AVHI) said.
Total output from 22 private companies,
both national and foreign in partnerships with
state oil firm PDVSA, will rise to 1.2 million
bpd next year from an average of 1 million bpd
this year, said AVHI President Luis Grisanti.
'The agreements have advanced
as planned, and we expect an average production
of 1.2 million bpd next year, of which some 600,000
bpd will be from operating agreements,' Grisanti
said. Grisanti said the firms affiliated with
AVHI -- which contribute 8 percent of the gross
domestic product and are the largest private investors
in the country -- plan to invest $4.04 billion
in the next five years in oil production. 'The
companies in AVHI have planned total investments
of some $14 billion between 2004 and 2009,' Grisanti
said".
