Total plans $ 25 bn for Orinoco investment

France's Total plans to invest some $ 25 bn to develop and process extra-heavy crude reserves in the Orinoco Belt, state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela, or PdVSA, said.
The project "includes installing a refinery or (upgrader) that will allow us to obtain improved crude of up to 42 degrees API," PdVSA's vice president of exploration and production, Eulogio del Pino, said.

An API gravity (which measures the density of liquid petroleum compared to water) higher than 31 is considered light crude oil while oil that falls within the 40-45 range commands the highest prices on international markets.
"At present, the highest level we upgrade to in the Belt is 31 degrees API. With this project, we're going to produce a greater quantity of crude because we'll be able to use higher-quality diluents that will give us the potential for greater output," Del Pino said.

Seven blocks in the Orinoco Belt -- a massive hydrocarbon reservoir in eastern Venezuela -- will be auctioned off; a total of 11 multinational oil firms are expected to tender bids. The auction had been scheduled for July but was delayed because the oil companies asked for more time to clarify details of the contracts.
Venezuela has offered tax incentives to foreign oil companies operating in the country, encouraging them to boost national refining capacity, Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said.
"It's in our interest for the country to go from being an exporter of crude to an exporter of products," Ramirez said.

PdVSA will launch its Investment Plan for the Orinoco Socialist Project, including bolstering infrastructure in the area and earmarking $ 25.9 bn through 2018, Ramirez said.
Venezuela's government completed its nationalization of the oil sector in 2007, stipulating that PdVSA must have at least a 60 % stake in all hydrocarbon joint ventures nationwide. The South American country has 142.3 bn barrels of proven reserves, although that figure could rise to 316 bn barrels once the process of certifying the Orinoco Belt reserves is concluded.