CARACAS�State oil corporation Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) announced Thursday that it posted a net profit of $3.891 billion for the first half of this year�up $3.333 billion over the same period in 1999.
PDVSA Pres. Hector Ciavaldini said his company posted gross earnings of approximately $14.123 billion for the January-June period of this year, with oil production currently averaging 2.9 million b/d. Gross earnings for the first half of 1999 totaled $7.357 billion.
Ciavaldini said the positive results in the first half of the year were due mainly to the surge in world oil prices as a result of discipline among members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Venezuela is a charter member of the organization.
Turning to other matters, the PDVSA chief said Venezuela's projected productive capacity currently stands at 3.7 million b/d and is expected to reach nearly 4 million b/d by the end of this year. He said the productive capacity level "is a record in PDVSA's history."
