CARACAS�PDVSA Gas, a unit of state oil corporation Petroleos de Venezuela SA, expects to sign by September a contract covering its first major natural gas project involving a system of pipelines and valve stations, the company announced Friday.
The project is aimed at the expansion of the Anaco-Jose gas transmission system in eastern Venezuela and will lead to an increase in the delivery capacity of the system by about 1 bcf/day. The system currently transports some 320 MMcfd.
As envisioned, the Anaco-Jose project provides for the creation of a new joint venture company to operate the transportation of natural gas from Anaco.
PDVSA said 59 private companies, 38 of them Venezuelan, have already been preselected to participate in the tender for the Anaco-Jose pipeline system project. PDVSA Gas will set up an information center on Aug. 18 to provide technical data on the project.
PDVSA said PDVSA Gas will retain a minority stake in the venture, which will be the first of several joint venture projects undertaken as the natural gas sector is opened to private investors interested in participation in exploration, liquefaction, distribution, and transportation phases of the local gas business (OGJ, Apr. 24, 2000, p. 21).