(PDVSA Press Room) - "The drilling of Ayacucho 6 Block of the Orinoco Oil Belt was begun with the presence of the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez Frías, and the President of the Republic of Argentina, Néstor Kirchner, within the frame of the -Orinoco Magna Reserva- Project and in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. and State companies Energía Argentina S.A. and Administración Nacional de Combustible, Alcohol y Portland (Ancap), of Uruguay.

Kirchner's third visit to Venezuela after his participation in the Summit for the Integral Unity of Latin America -Orinoco Declaration-, shall be marked by both nation's participation in the quantification and certification of the reserves of Ayacucho 6 Block of the Orinoco Oil Belt, the world's most important oil reservoir, and signing a series of agreements that back up the SOUTH-SOUTH cooperation and the Latin American integration.

The Orinoco Oil Belt is located south of the states of Guarico, Anzoategui and Monagas and comprises an area of approximately 55,314 Km2. It is divided into four areas, Boyaca, Junin, Ayacucho and Carabobo.

The drilling of well MFD-29E in the location of MFD-AJ (A6-04), is carried out in Ayacucho 6 Block, which has an area of 477 km2 and is located 95 km away from the town of San Tomé , State of Anzoátegui , near the community of Coloradito. With the drilling of block Ayacucho 6, it is estimated to reach 21 billion of Original Oil In Place (OOIP), to be certified after completing the second phase of the quantification study.

Enarsa and Ancap are two of the companies that participate together with PDVSA in the quantification of the reserves of the Belt, where there are estimated to exist 235 billion barrels of crude oil, which, added to the already official 81 billion, will elevate Venezuela's reserves to 316 billion. In addition to these state companies, companies Petrobras of Brasil, Repsol of Spain, Petropars of Iran, ONGC of India, Lukoil and Gazprom de Russia, CNPC of China, Belorusneft of Belarus, Petrovietnam of Vietnam, Cupet of Cuba, Petronas of Malasia also participate in the Orinoco Magna Reserva Project, complying with the pluri-polar view of the Bolivarian Government's energy strategy.

Among the more emblematic agreements between Venezuela and Argentina, there is the construction of a gas pipeline that will enable connecting Latin America for the marketing of this product through binational and multinational association schemes.

Up to this date, both nations maintain 27 cooperation agreements in the areas of hydrocarbons, basic industries, communications, agricultural machinery and cooperation on safety matters.

The Orinoco Magna Reserva Project will make Venezuela the country with the greatest oil reserves in the world and the Orinoco Oil Belt the fundamental axis for the country's industrial, social, economic, technological and endogenous development".