Italy’s Eni and Spain’s Repsol confirm largest natural gas discovery in Venezuela

Eni, Repsol confirm record Venezuela gas discovery

MILAN — The Italian oil company Eni and Spain’s Repsol on Friday said tests have confirmed that their natural gas discovery offshore Venezuela is the largest ever in the country.

Repsol first announced the find a few weeks ago during a visit to Spain by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

The discovery was made in the Perla field off the coast of Venezuela. In tests, the well produced “high quality” gas with a capacity of 600,000 cubic meters a day and 500 barrels of condensate — another form of hydrocarbon that is between liquid and gas in form — per day, Eni said. Production is expected to increase to over 1 million cubic meters per day.

Repsol said it was among the five biggest discoveries of 2009, with recoverable gas reserves of between 1 and 1.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent, enough to meet Spain’s gas demand for five years.

“The results of the well exceeded pre-drill expectations, making Perla the largest gas discovery in Venezuela and, potentially, one of the world’s largest natural gas discoveries in recent years,” Eni said in a statement.

The Perla field is located in the Cardon IV block in shallow water in the Gulf of Venezuela. The block is operated in equal 50 percent shares by Eni and Repsol, Spain’s biggest oil company. The Venezuelan state company Petroleos de Venezuela SA owns the right to claim a 35-percent share in the development phase, which would reduce Eni and Repsol’s shares to 32.5 percent each.