Jun 2008 - OPEC

Right (r–l): Dr Hercilio
Rivas, President, PDVSA
Intevep; Dr Luis Verma,
Intevep, Vice President,
Exploration; Abdalla
Salem El-Badri, OPEC
Secretary General; Ivan
Orellana, Venezuelan
Governor for OPEC;
Dr Omar Farouk
Ibrahim, Head, OPEC’s
Public Relations and
Information Department. PDVSA
Orinoco Oil Basin
Verma noted that while oil from the Orinoco belt is
described as bitumen, in reality, it is closer to conventional
oil. A number of developments in the last few
decades have contributed to raising the potential of the
Orinoco Oil Basin to add to the global proven oil reserve
and increase the production capacity of Venezuela. These
include technology, which has made remote sources of oil
more readily accessible, and the processing and refining
of non-conventional oil to meet the high environmental
standards a lot less difficult.
Equally important in raising the potential of the basin
is the increase in the price of oil seen in recent times. With
the rise in price, it becomes attractive to invest in producing
oil from the basin. A third reason is the increasing
world demand for oil, which must be met. And finally,
comes the responsibility of the government to provide
social services to its people.
Commenting on the government’s efforts to develop
the Orinoco Oil Basin, Ivan Orellana, the Venezuelan
Governor for OPEC, stressed that the government is determined
to raise the living standards of the people through
the provision of essential services from the proceeds of the
country’s oil. He noted that the Venezuelan government
sees oil wealth as a vehicle for transforming the lives of
the people and empowering them to become contented
citizens. He also stated that Venezuela has been benevolent
with its oil wealth to its neighbours in the spirit of
being “one’s neighbours’ keepers”.
On to Ecuador ...
While Venezuela is poised to supply more oil to consumers
by developing its vast oil reserves in the Orinoco Oil
Basin, Ecuador, which also has huge reserves in the virgin
forests of the Yasuni National Park, is seriously considering
foregoing any exploitation of the massive Ishpingo-
Tambocicha-Tiputini (ITT) oil reserve in return for financial
compensation from the international community.
Under a project named the Yasuni-ITT Initiative, it is
the government of Ecuador’s response to the global call to
protect the climate. The advantage is that the biodiversityrich
park, designated by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a “world
biosphere reserve” will be left intact and, in that way,
OPEC bulletin 6/08
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