North American Blue Energy Partners said Petrozamora output hit a company-reported record of 115,000 barrels per day on Oct. 23, highlighting increased output from Venezuelan fields covered by a U.S. oil agreement.
NABEP said State Department officials visited Bachaquero on Lake Maracaibo on Oct. 23, the date it gave for the production record. State Department official Daniel Kennedy joined NABEP CEO Alejandro Betancourt and Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) leaders at the field, the company said. Kennedy and U.S. Chargé d’Affaires John M. Barrett visited the Junín 10 block in the Orinoco Belt on Oct. 24, according to NABEP. Bloomberg separately reported the delegation’s Oct. 23 visit to fields in Zulia state.
The Aug. 31 agreement covers 17 oil fields, according to the White House. It said the Office of Strategic Capital at the U.S. Department of War received a 35% equity stake in NABEP’s parent company. The State Department received the right to buy 20% of production at production cost and a right of first refusal on the remaining 80%.
NABEP said its fields produced 223,509 barrels of oil equivalent per day as of Oct. 19. Bloomberg reported the same portfolio-wide figure, citing a person familiar with the company’s operations. That figure covers NABEP’s broader portfolio and uses a different measure from Petrozamora’s reported output. The company said it directly employs more than 5,000 people in Venezuela and supports more than 10,000 contractor jobs.
U.S. Chargé d’Affaires John M. Barrett said, “Both of our countries are winning.”
The White House put proven reserves in the 17 covered fields at about 65 billion barrels. An Associated Press investigation cited six experts who estimated Venezuela’s total proven reserves at 60 billion to 120 billion barrels and questioned the country’s larger official estimate.
NABEP said three drilling rigs were operating at Junín 10, with three more expected to start soon; it said a sixth rig had recently arrived in Venezuela. The company said work at Bachaquero 3 and Ceuta 4 could add production in the area within four months.
