November
28th, 2003
OPEC
says Venezuela offers good investment conditions
(English.eastday.com)- "Venezuela
has created favourable conditions for investments
in hydrocarbon exploitation, banking, mining and
the metallurgical industries, says the Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in a monthly
report.
Ranked as the world's fifth largest oil exporter,
Venezuela is a good long-term investment prospect
with low cost energy and raw materials, local
daily El Universal quoted the OPEC report as saying.
Other advantages highlighted in the report include
the country' s relatively modern infrastructure
and a strategic partnership with the United States,
a major purchaser of Venezuelan oil.
The oil cartel says Venezuela's oil production
stood at 2.56 million barrels per day (bpd) in
October, up 21,000 bpd from September's production.
In an effort to raise production to 4.8 million
bpd in 2009, Venezuela plans to increase investment
in its state-run petroleum company PDVSA by 54
per cent in the 2004-2009 period.
The investment plan calls for the Venezuelan government
to inject US$3.5 billion into the petrochemicals
sector, US$2.5 billion in refining, US$2 billion
in coal-mining, US$4 billion to exploit heavy
oil resources of the eastern Orinoco region and
US$5 billion to update operating systems".
