Venezuelan field gets OPIC funds

The Overseas Private Investment Corp. has committed $165 million in project financing for an oil and gas service project in northeastern Venezuela. It said the WilPro Energy Services Ltd. project is the first oil production services project in Venezuela to be developed and financed on a build, own, and operate basis. The financing will support WilPro's high-pressure gas compression and injection project being developed in El Furrial field for a subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela SA. It

Oct. 27, 1997

The Overseas Private Investment Corp. has committed $165 million in project financing for an oil and gas service project in northeastern Venezuela.

It said the WilPro Energy Services Ltd. project is the first oil production services project in Venezuela to be developed and financed on a build, own, and operate basis.

The financing will support WilPro's high-pressure gas compression and injection project being developed in El Furrial field for a subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela SA. It will increase peak oil production by 130,000 b/d.

WilPro won the bid for the project last December and began construction in February. It is a jointly owned subsidiary of Williams Cos., Tulsa, and Production Operators Corp., Houston, a unit of Camco International Inc., Houston.

OPIC said the project will use more than $100 million in U.S. goods and will support 450 U.S. jobs. In Venezuela, it will add hundreds of construction jobs and more than 30 permanent positions.

George Mu?oz, OPIC president and CEO, said, "With OPIC's support, this project opens the door for American investments in Venezuela's important oil and gas sector, creating more opportunities to generate U.S. exports and set U.S. standards."