Seven billion barrels of crude oil certified in Venezuela's Orinicobelt
Some seven billion barrels of crude oil have now been certified in Venezuela's Orinoco Petroliferos Strip, the state oil company Petioles de Venezuela (PDVSA) said Thursday.

Another 235 billion barrels of heavy crude are expected to be certified across the strip, however, only 20 percent can be extracted due to technological limits, PDVSA vice president Luis Verma said.

There will be a noticeable increase in exploration on the strip in 2007 and a great advance in offshore exploration from maritime platforms in Sucre, Monagas and Delta Amacuro states, he said.

"We are going to drill to 20,000 feet in the north of Monagas and we have great hopes for an increase in light and medium crude and natural gas production," he added.

PDVSA is seeking to produce four million barrels a day (bpd) by2012, up from 3 million at present. Seven foreign companies are in joint ventures in the Orinoco Strip, compared with 10 in offshore fields.

The Orinoco Petroliferos Strip, which has the world's largest crude oil reserves, estimated at around 235 billion barrels, is a 55,300-square-km swath of land, which overlaps the states of Guarico, Anzoategui, Monagas and Delta Amacuro, all in the east of the nation and close to the Orinoco River.

Each of these areas has in turn been divided into 27 blocks, which are being explored by PDVSA either alone or in joint ventures with foreign oil companies.