Eni to Develop a Block in Venezuela's Orinoco Belt

Rafael Ramirez, Minister of Energy and Petroleum of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and President of PDVSA, the state-owned oil company and Paolo Scaroni, Eni’s CEO, have signed a strategic agreement for the development of a block located in the Orinoco oil belt (Faja). The Orinoco belt is the world’s largest deposit of heavy oil with original oil in place equal to 1,300 billion barrels and huge reserves which are mostly still undeveloped (current oil production is approximately 600,000 barrels per day).