Drilling in bloc Ayacucho 7 of southern Orinoco oil belt began Monday. The bloc is located in Kuricapo field, 125 kilometers of San Tomé town, eastern Anzoátegui state.

A commemorative plate was unveiled to mark the commissioning. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and his Iranian counterpart Mahmud Ahmadinejad attended the event, official news agency ABN reported.

Drilling of MFK-4E well in Kuricapo field is the first portion of an agreement entered into by state-run holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) and Iranian Petropars. The convention provides for a study on quantification and certification of reserves of existing reservoirs in bloc Ayacucho 7.

The activity is a fundamental part of the memo of understanding executed by the two countries on March 11th, 2005.