North American Blue Energy Partners Inc., which is partnering with the US government to develop Venezuelan oil fields, is deploying a sixth drilling rig as it ramps up production in the South American country, according to a person familiar with the company’s operations.
Nabep Chief Executive Officer Alejandro Betancourt hosted a US State Department delegation on Friday at its fields in western Venezuela, where the company is expanding its operations. The group included Daniel Kennedy, senior advisor in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.
“We are changing the energy landscape, and we are pleased with the performance,” the top US diplomat in Venezuela John Barret said on Friday while visiting oil fields operated by Nabep in Zulia state.
Nabep’s production in western Venezuela reached a record 115,000 barrels a day on Friday, according to Betancourt. Venezuela’s overall oil output recently reached 1.252 million barrels a day, oil minister Héctor Obregón said, speaking alongside Betancourt.
Across its Venezuelan portfolio, Nabep was producing 223,509 barrels of oil equivalent a day as of Oct. 19, according to a person familiar with its operations who asked not to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. That’s about 20,000 barrels a day more than in August, according to internal data from state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela SA.
Nabep, a closely held company, has grown without external investment or debt, said the person familiar with Nabep’s operations who asked not to be named because they’re not authorized to speak publicly. As cash flows rise, it will increase the amount reinvested every year by as much as 50%, the person added.
Nabep has been in the spotlight since the Pentagon announced in August that it would take a 35% stake in the company through its Office of Strategic Capital. The deal is expected to come under scrutiny by the US Congress if Democrats win control of the House of Representatives in Nov. 3 midterm elections.
The company has no immediate plans to raise outside funding or offer equity stakes beyond its existing agreement with the US government, the person said, though it may seek commercial alliances.
Nabep has three drilling rigs working in the Junin area of the Orinoco heavy oil belt, the person said. Three more will start work there soon, including the sixth rig that’s just arrived in the country. In addition, the company has 13 workover rigs — used for well repairs and maintenance — and is awaiting 15 more.
To implement its 25-year plan, Nabep plans to bring in a total of 60 rigs, 30 steam boilers and 70 pieces of heavy equipment for construction, which the person described as the largest investment by a private Venezuelan company in years.
Nabep has reinvested about $1 billion of its net revenues over the last two years to increase production 10-fold. As of Oct. 19, production was running at 223,509 barrels of oil equivalent per day, the person said. That’s about 20,000 barrels a day more than in August, according to internal data from state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA.
The bulk of Nabep’s output comes from the formerly Russian-operated Petrozamora block in western Venezuela, with the balance from Petrocedeño and Junin 10 — previously known as Junin Sur — in the Orinoco oil belt. The company operates 17 fields, including 14 that were recently added to its portfolio.
The acreage includes aging deposits, known as brownfields, where Nabep plans to conduct secondary recovery to revive production, as well as new deposits, or greenfields, where it’s conducting technical planning and engineering work, the person said.
Venezuela’s leading private-sector oil producer is Chevron Corp., which operates the Petropiar block in another part of the Orinoco belt, as well as other fields.
Source: rigzone.com