14-09-09 Repsol-YPF, the Spanish oil company that announced one of the world's largest natural-gas discoveries, said the field will take as many as five years to develop.
"Four to five years is the time that is needed to develop a project of this quantity and quality," Chief Executive Officer Antonio Brufau said. "The next five years will be an investment process."

The field in Venezuela contains as much as 8 tcf of fuel, enough to supply Spain for more than five years, according to Repsol. In the development phase of the field, known as Cardon IV, state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela will have a 35 % stake, with Repsol and ENI of Italy each holding a 32.5 %.
The discovery is twice as big as Repsol had previously expected, Brufau said after meeting Bolivian President Evo Morales in Madrid.

"This new discovery, if confirmed, would represent more than 30 % of Repsol's total gas reserves and about 20 % of the company's total reserves," Robert Jackson, a Banesto Bolsa analyst, said in a note.

Falling output
The producer is also targeting new exploration projects in regions such as Brazil's offshore Santos Basin and the Gulf of Mexico to improve profitability and reduce reliance on Argentina after four years of declining production.
Venezuela has 174.9 tcf of natural gas reserves, the largest in South America. The country had 2.6 % of the world's proved natural-gas reserves in 2008, or the world's ninth-largest reserves, according to BP. Most of the country's gas can be produced in combination with crude oil. Venezuela's oil output has declined since 1998, prompting it to import gas from Colombia. The Latin American country is seeking to expand gas output and become an exporter of liquefied natural gas, or LNG.

Repsol lost some reserves in South America following moves by Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador to take resources into state ownership or renegotiate contracts, prompting Bruno Almeida da Silva, an analyst at Banco BPI, to inject a note of caution into the latest discovery.
"Problems in Venezuela have involved in the recent past repatriation of dividends and threats of nationalization of gas reserves," said Almeida da Silva.