MOSCOW, July 3 (UPI) -- Investments between Russian energy company Rosneft and its Venezuelan partner envision at least $5 billion in one area alone, Venezuela's oil minister said.
Venezuelan state energy giant Petroleos de Venezuela, known also as PDVSA, announced it signed a deal with an investment arm of Russian energy company Gazprom to sink $1 billion into the Petrozamora joint oil venture in the country. Fields associated with the Venezuelan operation produced 65,000 barrels of oil per day on average during the first three months of the year, PDVSA said in a statement Tuesday.
The deal was announced during a meeting between Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez and Rosneft executives in Moscow. Ramirez, who serves also as the director of PDVSA, said PDVSA would work with Russian energy company Rosneft on five natural gas regions off the Venezuelan coast. The reserve estimate for the Mariscal Sucre, Blanquilla and Tortuga deposits stands at 21 trillion cubic feet.
"Investment in Mariscal Sucre alone will total at least $5 billion," Ramirez was quoted by Russian news agency RIA Novosti as saying.
Rosneft in January announced plans to invest around $10 billion to support its work in the Venezuelan energy sector.
