CARACAS, Venezuela, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Italian energy giant Eni announced it formed a joint venture with Petroleos de Venezuela to develop the Orinoco belt, the world's largest deposit of heavy oil.
Eni signed strategic agreements with Petroleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA, for the development of the Junin-5 oil block, technology swaps from U.S. shale gas deposits and for the construction of a power plant.
The Junin-5 block is located in the Orinoco oil belt, the largest deposit of heavy oil in the world with 1.3 trillion barrels of oil, most of which is undeveloped. Orinoco currently produces 600,000 barrels of oil per day.
PDVSA will hold a 60 percent stake in the joint venture with Eni, Empresa Mixta, to develop Junin-5. Production there is expected to reach 75,000 bpd by 2013, with a peak expected at 240,000 bpd.
Both companies will explore methods to convert heavy oil into lighter high-quality products.
Eni said it was proposing a 1-gigawatt power plant in the Guiria peninsula as part of the deal. An agreement also gives PDVSA access to gas shale technology at Barnett deposits in Texas for the use in Venezuelan shale basins.
