Venezuela has added additional fields to the bidding round for heavy oil blocks in the Orinoco belt after 19 companies expressed interest in projects there, Venezuela's energy ministry said on Tuesday. The OPEC nation will tender seven subdivisions of the Orinoco belt's Carabobo area to produce tar-like oil that will be processed in three upgraders that turn the heavy crude into valuable synthetic oil.
Venezuela added three areas and an additional upgrader to the original
offer due to strong interest, the statement said.
Participating oil majors, including BP , Chevron, Shell, Norway's StatoilHydro and France's Total, will bid for minority stakes in joint ventures with Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.
Other bidders include Malaysia's Petronas, Portugal's Galp and a consortium of unspecified Russian companies, possibly including Lukoil and Gazprom .
President Hugo Chavez last year nationalized four multibillion dollar heavy crude projects as part of a wave of state takeovers, leading U.S. oil giants Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips to leave the country and sue for compensation.
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