May
19, 2004
Total eyes new $6Bn heavy crude
project in Venezuela
(Dow Jones Newswires) - "Total is
negotiating the terms of a new $6 billion heavy
crude upgrading project with the Venezuelan government
that would eventually produce 200,000 barrels
a day of synthetic crude, said Philippe Armand,
the vice president of Total for North and South
America.
Armand said he hoped to reach an agreement with
the government on the terms and conditions of
the project by the end of this year, which would
allow for production to start in around three
years.
He said Total would pursue
the project as a joint enture with its partners
in the 160,000 b/d Sincor heavy crude upgrading
project, which include state-oil company PDVSA
(and Norway's Statoil. Sincor is located in the
Orinoco tar belt in Eastern Venezuela, where the
new project would take place. 'We've been discussing
for the past four months the shape of the future
contract. The new project would have to be linked
with Sincor's existing facilities for it to be
profitable, and that the company is basing its
investment plan on an average oil price of $21
for Brent crude'. Armand said (…) Total investment
in Sincor has reached $4.5 billion."
