19-07-08 Iran OPEC's governor, Mohammad Ali Khatibi, says Iran may use Venezuelan production technology in the production of extra heavy oil. He said Venezuela has already brought some of its extra heavy oil reserves to production but that the level of production of this type of oil is heavily dependent on its special market since this grade of oil is not universally in demand.
In addition, refining extra heavy oil is complicated and requires great investment, the OPEC official said.

The best facilities for refining extra heavy oil are located in the US since it has modern refineries but Venezuela has also sold some of its extra heavy oil to China and India. Venezuela currently enjoys production technology of extra heavy oil.
Given that some of Iran's oil reserves consist of extra heavy oil, the Islamic Republic can use Venezuelan capabilities in the production of its reserves, Khatibi noted. Khatibi said Iran can discuss this issue with Venezuela on the sidelines of the upcoming OPEC meeting.

Producing heavy and extra-heavy crude oil was long considered to be unprofitable because, while reserves are vast, they are difficult to produce, process, transport and market.
Iran and Venezuela are both OPEC members and enjoy close cooperation in a variety of sectors. In recent years, Iran has assisted Venezuela in the construction of food and cement factories as well as in housing construction. The Islamic Republic has also exported tractors to Venezuela and manufactured bicycles in the Latin American nation.