Energy
Minister of Energy and Petroleum Rafael Ramírez said on Tuesday that he will meet next week with companies interested in the Carabobo bidding round of heavy crude at the oil-rich Orinoco Belt. The bidding process has been delayed due to the lack of agreement on the terms for its development.

International oil companies, including Great Britain's BP, US Chevron, China's CNCP, Italy's ENI and Portugal's Galp Energia have expressed their interest in participating in the first oil bidding round in Venezuela in recent years.

During the meeting, Pdvsa will discuss on the consortia to be established and the economics of projects, after the sharp drop of oil prices and the difficult access to credit amid the global crisis contributed to lower the attractiveness of the development of heavy oil projects at the Orinoco Oil Belt, Reuters reported.

Ramírez said last month that he expected to complete the bidding process of the blocks by the end of the year, after it has been delayed several times because of oil company's doubts about the high costs associated with the development of the project.

The heavy oil at the Orinoco Belt must be processed through a costly upgrading process before being shipped to conventional refineries.