(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-09 10:06

CARACAS - India will invest some 400 million US dollars in Venezuela during the next five years as a result of an accord signed Tuesday in Caracas for the joint exploitation of an oil field in the Orinoco Oil Strip.

The accord aims to create a joint venture called IndoVenezolana S.A., with Venezuelan State Oils S.A. (PDVSA) holding a 60 percent stake and India ONGC Videsh Ltd controlling the rest.

The joint venture will be set up in the San Cristobal area, north of the Orinoco Oil Strip, and will be in charge of exploration, extraction, collection, transportation and storage of crude oil and natural gas.

The new project will increase oil production in the San Cristobal field from the current 30,000 barrels to 60,000 barrels a day in the coming years, said Venezuelan Minister for Energy and Oil Rafael Ramirez during the signing of the accord.

Ramirez and his Indian counterpart Murli Deora highlighted the "importance" of the accord and said it will strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

According to data provided by Venezuela's Energy and Oil Ministry, the San Cristobal area has the potential to produce 232 million barrels of oil in the next 25 years, as the site holds some 1.038 billion barrels of oil reserves.

The Orinoco Oil Strip has one of the biggest crude oil reserves in the world, and the San Cristobal field, circumscribed by the accord, has an area of 160.18 square kilometers.