Peter Howard Wertheim
OGJ Correspondent
RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 23 -- Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and Argentina's President Nestor Kirchner inaugurated drilling of the first well in the Orinoco heavy-oil belt to be operated by Argentine companies.
The MFD-29E well is in the MFD-AJ (A604) area of 477-sq-km Ayacucho Block 6 in southern Anzoategui state.
The project is part of Venezuela's Magna Reserva reserves assessment program that Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) is conducting with various partners. PDVSA and Argentina's state hydrocarbons company Enarsa aim to certify 21 billion bbl of reserves at Ayacucho 6.