The Venezuelan Orinoco Oil Belt is the biggest source of oil reserves in the world, with proven reserves of 272 billion barrels of crude spanning an area of 55,314 square kilometres in the country’s Guárico, Anzoátegui and Monagas states.
If you consider all of the oil-producing projects in our country, we have a grand total of 301 million barrels of crude and 201,349 cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, which makes us the leading energy power worldwide.
The Orinoco Oil Belt, our great oil and mineral reservoir, hosts five companies, including Petrocedeño (Total and Statoil), Petropiar (Chevron), Petromonagas (BP), Petrolera Sinovensa (CNPC) and Petromacareo (Petrovietnam). Venezuela’s state-owned company (PDVSA) holds 60 per cent ownership while the rest of these companies have a 40-per-cent share.
The Siembra Petrolera Plan establishes oil industry guidelines and policies for foreign investment up to 2030. Some remarkable outcomes from the above-mentioned plan include agreements reached between PDVSA, the Italian oil company (ENI) and the Spanish oil company (Repsol), for development of the Cardón IV Bloc, located in the Gulf of Venezuela, in the northeastern peninsula of Paraguaná. Another example is the $500 million US agreement between PDVSA and the Russian state-owned company (Rosneft) for the development of natural gas projects in Campo Mejillones and Patao from the offshore Mariscal Sucre Project.
Recent data provided by PDVSA, and certified by accounting firm KPMG, show the extraordinary economic potential that Venezuela holds in terms of energy for investors all over the world. During 2015, the daily production reached 2.9 billion barrels of crude, and the average exportation rate was 2.4 billion barrels of crude per day, positioning PDVSA worldwide as the fifth most important company in the oil and gas sector. Despite the fall of crude prices to $44.65 per barrel during 2014 and 2015, PDVSA reported profits of $72 billion, its assets were valued at $202 billion, and equity was valued at $91
billion, while investing was valued at $17 billion in the publicly owned portion of the sector.
Two-way trade between Venezuela and Canada reached $681 million during 2014. The energy sector alone yielded $323 million in 2013. Canadians should be aware that Venezuela has opened the doors of the Orinoco Oil Belt and the Mining Arc Project, calling on international investors and the renowned Canadian energy sector.
The Mining Arc Project is a mega-project geared towards national and foreign investment, intended for the quantification, certification and exploitation of minerals found in more than 40 blocks already outlined. Data supporting Venezuela as an attractive and unique space for international investment are the following:
• Current gold production in Venezuela is carried out mainly in six areas that contain gold resources with a degree of purity ranging from 18 to 23.52 carats.
• The untapped gold potential in Venezuela could exceed 4,000 tons.
• Within the Orinoco Mining Arc, there are five diamond mining areas: Icabarú, Guri, Bajo Caroni, Guaniamo and Santa Fe. In the San Antonio de las Alisas of Guaniamo alone, resources are equivalent to 33.8 million carats in diamonds.
• Within the Guayana region of Venezuela, “kimberlite” stones that are unique to Latin America and which often house diamonds, can be found.
Venezuela ranks sixth in terms of iron ore reserves, with 3,000,600 tonnes of proven resources. Through certification of new possible reserves and probable reserves, there is an estimated 8.7 million tonnes and 2.3 million tonnes respectively, which could position Venezuela as the country with the second-largest reserves of this particular mineral.
The Venezuelan State offers attractive terms for investors. We offer renewable exploitation periods of 20 years. International companies are welcome to join any part of the supply chain of the mining business. The business model for the exploration and exploitation of gold and other strategic minerals in Venezuela provides for the establishment of joint ventures and mixed companies. The Central Bank of Venezuela will be the recipient of all gold production and will be in charge of converting it into currency, to ensure a return to investors. And finally, the Orinoco Mining Arc Project grants participating companies preferential financing.
To conclude, I would kindly invite our readers to obtain more information about investment in our national energy sector through our commercial experts or by visiting our embassy in Ottawa.
Wilmer Omar Barrientos is the ambassador of Venezuela. Reach him by email at assistant.ambassador@misionvenezuela.org or by calling 613-235-5151.
