Chevron agrees to heavy-oil asset swap with Venezuela’s PDVSA

Chevron Corp., through its subsidiaries with interests in Venezuela, agreed to an asset swap with Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) and subsidiaries of PDVSA that the operator said, “will consolidate all parties’ focus on strategic assets in the country.”

Chevron will receive an additional 13.21% working interest in the Petroindependencia SA joint venture, increasing its total stake to 49%. Petropiar SA, in which Chevron’s subsidiary holds a 30% interest, has been assigned the rights to develop the adjacent Ayacucho 8 area in Venezuela’s Orinoco Oil Belt.

Venezuela will receive from Chevron subsidiaries its 60% and 100% operated interests in the offshore Plataforma Deltana Block 2 and Block 3 gas licenses, respectively, and its 25.2% non-operated interest in the Petroindependiente SA joint venture in western Venezuela.

The Plataforma Deltana Block 2 license contains the Loran gas discovery and the Plataforma Deltana Block 3 license contains the Macuira gas discovery.

“This agreement expands Chevron’s heavy oil position in two key joint ventures in Venezuela and reflects our disciplined development of the country’s significant resources. Ayacucho 8 is a producing asset in close proximity to Petropiar, which enhances development efficiencies,” said Javier La Rosa, president of Chevron Base Assets and Emerging Countries.

Petroindependencia and Petropiar operate extra-heavy oil from projects in the Orinoco Oil Belt.