  |
|
Venezuela's start construction of the biggest gas industrial center of Latin America-CIGMA
By Elio Ohep
Petroleumworld
CARACAS
Petroleumworld.com 09 25 06With the leadership of Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's oil company PDVSA made on Friday, the ground breaking of the biggest natural gas industrial center of Latin America, Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho Industrial Complex - CIGMA
Chavez, issued statements during the ceremony referring to the complex the biggest natural gas industrial center of Latin America and highlighting the construction of this industrial complex as part of a development strategy designed by the Venezuelan Government facing the XXI century.This complex represents the national independence and the integral development of Venezuela. "This is one of the fundamental axis of Venezuela’s economic and industrial revolution". Chavez said.
Chavez added s that the Delta Oil Platform, located in eastern Venezuela, contains about 34 trillion of cubic feet and the development of this oilfield will contemplate the exploration and production of natural gas, making the complex the provider of natural gas to South American countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru with natural gas.
The President of Venezuela issued these statements during the ground breaking ceremony of the abovementioned gas center.
Chávez highlighted that the construction of this industrial complex is part of a development strategy designed by the Venezuelan Government facing the XXI century.
The first well is under way on Venezuela's offshore Platform Deltana, a potentially gas-rich area the country hopes to use to feed domestic gas and the international markets.Others field to supply gas to CIGMA complex are expected to come from Venezuela's more than 500,000km2 of available offshore acreage that the company estimates to hold a potential 95tcf. There is a current plan for PDVSA in conjunction with Petrobras to start exploration in the north area of Paria Peninsula, next to the border of Trinidad
Deltana's Platform plan
The first offshore area licensed under Platform Deltana located off the country's east coast along the border with Trinidad and Tobago covers 32,000km2 in water depths ranging from 80m to 1000m and, according to PDVSA, holds estimated reserves in the range of 38tcf, with 7.6tcf proven, probable and possible.Licenses in Platform Deltana were awarded to Chevron, two blocks 2 and 3, and has said it has located 7 tcf of proven reserves, Chevron hold the exploration license to Block 6d in the Manatee are of Trinidad on the other side of the reservoir and have also reported oil findings; and Norway's Statoil, block 4, (1433km2).
However, due to the blocks license to Chevron been located along the border with Trinidad and Tobago, the two nations are in talks towards establishing a unitization agreement that would allow for allocation of these reserves and development of the fields, it is expected to have the agreement finish by the end this year, according to sources.
Statoil said last Monday that it will resume its drilling in Venezuela's offshore Deltana platform in mid-2006.
Statoil suspended operations last year because of safety concerns with the Transoceans Sovereign Explorer drilling rig failed to meet Statoil's safety requirements for work on high-pressure reservoirs.
Processing plan
PDVSA's plan call for all gas from Deltana and Paria's northern fields would be sent to a main offshore processing and compression facility in the shallower water areas of Paria's gulf and would be sent via a new offshore pipeline to the CIGMA complex in Guiria.Once the gas is processed in CIGMA would then be sent to feed the domestic market and exported via LNG to international markets such as the several US regasification terminals in which the international firms hold capacity, there is an option before the CIGMA complex is ready, to send the gas for processing to Trinida's Atlantic LNG plant.
Investments
Through this plan PDVSA anticipates an investment in CIGMA $ 2.300 millions of dollars in the next 2 years for a total 4.500 million to be spent by 2008.Venezuela is currently producing some 6.3-6.5 billion cubic feet of gas a day (Bf3/d) but in maily for reijection in the the oil wells, needs 1-1.4 Bf3/d for energy generation.
Venezuela holds natural gas reserves estimated at least 150 trillion cubic feet
(tcf).
- Elio Ohep, editor@petroleumworld.com, 58 412 996 3730, Caracas.
Petroleumworld 09 24 06
Copyright ©Petroleumworld. All Rights Reserved.
Your
feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us
their views and comments about this article.
Write to editor@petroleumworld.com
Any
question or suggestions, please write to:
editor@petroleumworld.com
Best
Viewed with IE
5.01+
Windows
NT 4.0, '95, '98 and ME +/ 800x600 pixels