Oil production at the Petrozamora (Petrozamora) fields owned by North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) in Venezuela reached a record 115,000 barrels per day on October 23. This increase in production occurred during a two-day visit by officials from the U.S. Department of State, John M. Barrett and Daniel Kennedy, to NABEP's operations in western and eastern Venezuela.
Details of the Visit and Its Impacts
During the visit, John Barrett stated: "Less than two months after announcing this historic agreement, our partner NABEP has been able to increase its oil production and import new rigs from the United States." Barrett also added: "American rigs are creating jobs for Venezuelans, and Venezuela's oil strengthens America's energy security."
NABEP's total hydrocarbon production capacity reached 223,509 barrels of oil equivalent and gas (boed) as of October 19, which represents a significant growth compared to the production of about 18,000 barrels per day two years ago. NABEP has stated that this level of production has been achieved with an investment of approximately $1 billion from its own resources, and it is now investing hundreds of millions of dollars more in this area monthly. Earlier this month, NABEP deployed 11 workover rigs on oil wells and two new drilling rigs.
Challenges and Future Goals of NABEP
However, NABEP faces real challenges. Some of the company's oil fields have been producing for years, while others have never been drilled. This reality could impact the company's oil production plans. Following an agreement that NABEP signed in August with the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, the company is seeking access to 17 fields with a total of 65 billion barrels of oil reserves.
NABEP aims to increase its production to over 1 million barrels per day in the short term, although it had previously announced a target of 500,000 barrels per day by 2028. Venezuela expects nearly $76 billion to be invested in the oil and gas sector over the next five years.
