Repsol Says Gas Discovery in Venezuela Is Among Largest in World

[Judi Lynn]

Repsol Says Gas Discovery in Venezuela Is Among Largest in World
By Timothy Coulter

Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Repsol YPF SA, Spain’s biggest oil company, said a natural gas field found in Venezuela is the largest in the South American country and among the biggest in the world.

The discovery may hold between 7 trillion and 8 trillion cubic feet of gas, enough to supply Spain for more than five years, the company said in an e-mailed statement today.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aDhUiH8vbsP8

[Judi Lynn]

1. Big natural gas find announced off Venezuela coast

September 11, 2009, 12:59PM ET
Big natural gas find announced off Venezuela coast

MADRID

Spanish energy giant Repsol has made a huge natural gas find off the coast of Venezuela that it thinks it is one of the world's biggest reserves, a spokeswoman said Friday.

The field in the Gulf of Venezuela is believed to contain 7 to 8 trillion cubic feet of gas, although the company is still conducting final tests to ascertain the amount, said Repsol spokeswoman Begona Elices. She called such a volume enormous.

The find was first announced by visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in an interview with the newspaper El Pais. He divulged its existence during a walkabout in Madrid, while visiting a bookstore. Repsol chairman Antonio Brufau was with him at the time.

Chavez gave the figure on the gas volume and Elices confirmed it to the AP.

For comparison, 7 to 8 trillion cubic feet is roughly five times the natural gas that Spain consumes in a year, said another Repsol spokesman, Kristian Rix.

More:
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9AL83K00.htm

[Judi Lynn]

2. Repsol Says Venezuela Gas Find Among World’s Largest (Update1)

Repsol Says Venezuela Gas Find Among World’s Largest (Update1)
By Timothy Coulter and Steve Bodzin

Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Repsol YPF SA, Spain’s biggest oil company, discovered a Venezuelan gas field containing as much as 8 trillion cubic feet of fuel, one of the world’s largest finds.

The field may hold between 7 trillion and 8 trillion cubic feet of gas, enough to supply Spain for more than five years, the company said today in an e-mailed statement. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Repsol Chief Executive Officer Antonio Brufau discussed the Pearl 1 find, in Venezuela’s Cardon IV block, in Madrid today, according to the statement.

Repsol wants to boost oil and gas production through new finds offshore Brazil and Venezuela after four years of declining output. The company is also a partner in Brazil’s Guara oil field, which may contain 2 billion barrels of oil.

In the development phase of Pearl 1, state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA will have a 35 percent stake in the project, with Repsol and Eni SPA retaining a 32.5 percent stake.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=a0vzdTg2_Clc