Venezuela gas discovery could be 14 Tcf
Without specifying which discovery he was referring to, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on state television yesterday that a gasfield discovery had been made in the Caribbean Sea offshore Venezuela that has been shown to contain almost twice the gas reserves that it was initially estimated to have.
Chavez said the unnamed gas well, which he termed a "super well" may hold as much as 14 Tcf in natural gas. "We have drilled tens of wells in the Caribbean and recently discovered a super well," he said. "A super deposit that was at 8 Tcf and now could be as much as 14 Tcf."
It is likely the president was referring to the Eni-Repsol Perla-1 gasfield discovery made last year, which at the time was lauded as the largest gas discovery in Latin America and one of the largest in the world at 7.7-8 Tcf. It was found with the JV's first exploration well drilled off Venezuela in the shallow water Gulf of Venezuela's Cardon IV Block by the jackup drilling rig Ensco 68. Since the discovery was announced in mid-September 2009, Eni, operator of the well, has been carrying out reserves and production tests.
If this is the well to which Chavez was referring, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), which has the right to buy a stake in any natural gas discovery, will likely hold 35% once it has been declared commercial. Eni and Repsol will each have 32.5% of production. Eni operates the Cardon IV Block with 50% interest, with Repsol holding the remaining 50%.
03/30/2010