Chevron Corp. plans to propose a new project in Venezuela that aims to produce 400,000 barrels of heavy oil a day, a company executive said, according to AP. The California-based firm would partner with state-run Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., or PDVSA, and Spain's Repsol YPF, on the project. «This project we propose is close to 400,000 barrels per day,» said Ali Moshiri, the head of Chevron's exploration and production operations in Latin America. The proposed project would be Chevron's second heavy oil venture in Venezuela. The company currently has a 30 percent stake in the 190,000 barrels per day Hamaca heavy oil project in eastern Venezuela. Chevron and Repsol will finalize the business plan and present it to PDVSA in the first quarter of next year, Moshiri said. The plan would expand Chevron's already heavy presence in Venezuela. The company has won blocks in the two natural gas rounds under the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the only licenses Venezuela has offered energy firms since Chavez came to office in early 1999.
