Eni to inject $4bn into Venezuela oil project

Eni, the Italian oil and gas group, plans to invest $4bn in Venezuela, the biggest commitment to the country by a western oil company since President Hugo Chávez began to take control of its oil projects in 2005. Eni has reached agreement in principle with PDVSA, Venezuela's state-owned oil company, to develop an area of the Orinoco belt, one of the world's largest oil reserves. The deal is the most concrete sign yet of Venezuela's enthusiasm for foreign investment to revive its ailing oil industry.