Caracas - Rosneft will invest $10 billion in projects in Venezuela in the next few years, the company's president Igor Sechin, told reporters.
Overall oil production under projects with Russian participation could reach 50 million tonnes per year, Sechin said. Rosneft’s share of that would be around 15 million tonnes, or 500,000 barrels per day, he said.
“Rosneft will invest around $10 billion in these years,” Sechin said.
Russian companies are interested in several projects in Venezuela, and the bulk of equipment orders will come from them.
Venezuela is a key region for Rosneft, Sechin said.
Rafael Ramirez, head of Venezuelan national oil company PDVSA, said mutual investment in projects between his company and Russian companies was around $46 billion. Direct investment by Russian companies is $17 billion.
“This is turning the group of Russian companies into key foreign partners for Venezuela,” Ramirez said.
Rosneft’s Sechin said he was confident the Russian investment in Venezuela would be safeguarded, despite the illness of the country’s leader, Hugo Chavez.
“We’ve no doubt our investments will be protected. We’re convinced our projects will be delivered over the long-term and that outside factors will not affect them,” he said.
“We’re confident Chavez will cope with any problems, as he always has done. We hope everything will be okay and that he’ll have the strength to overcome his illness,” Sechin said.
