Venezuela will open a bid round for private companies to develop the Carabobo I block of the Opec nation's Orinoco heavy crude belt, state oil company PDVSA said on Saturday. The company said in a statement that the Energy Ministry "already has everything it needs to announce the timeline, the conditions and the business model that will be developed in this bid."
The announcement comes only months after leftist President Hugo Chavez took over four multi-billion-dollar Orinoco projects as part of a drive toward socialism, pushing out Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips in the process.
Brazilian energy giant Petrobras worked with state oil company PDVSA to certify Carabobo I oil reserves, which Venezuela says are close to 10 billion barrels. Venezuela also signed a deal with France's Total to certify reserves in a block of the Junin area of the vast Orinoco reserve.