The President of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), Nelson Martinez, held a working meeting with the Executive Vice President for the Americas of Italian state oil company Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (ENI), Federico Arisi Rota, and its Managing Director, Carmine De Lorenzo, to assess and strengthen current joint gas projects and continue the talks on production increase.

At the meeting, which was also attended by PDVSA Vice President of Gas, César Triana, they addressed the issue of ENI's participation and the progress of natural gas production in Cardón IV Block of the Rafael Urdaneta Project, Falcón state, which is shared with Spanish state oil company Repsol (50% stake each).

At the Block, 540 million cubic feet of natural gas and 15,000 barrels of condensate per day are currently produced, with a projection to reach 850 million cubic feet of natural gas and then increase that production to 1.2 billion cubic feet and 37,000 barrels of condensate.

ENI is one of PDVSA's strategic partners due to its participation and investment in areas ranging from the production of extra heavy crude in the Hugo Chávez Orinoco Oil Belt, through the joint ventures Petrosucre and Petrojunín; offshore medium crude in the Gulf of Paria; to the production of natural gas and condensates in the Gulf of Venezuela.

This is one of the meetings held by the president of PDVSA with energy industry allies and partners with the aim of strengthening relations not only between oil companies but also between nations.

About PDVSA

Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., the state-owned corporation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is responsible for the efficient, profitable, and dependable exploration, production, refining, transport and commerce of hydrocarbons. This company is deeply committed to environmental protection and its main objectives are to foster the harmonic development of the country, to guarantee sovereignty of national resources, to increase endogenous development and to serve and benefit the Venezuelan people, who correspond to their share of the country’s national wealth.

About ENI

Eni is an integrated energy company employing more than 34.000 people in 69 countries in the world. Eni engages in oil and natural gas exploration, field development and production, as well as in the supply, trading and shipping of natural gas, LNG, electricity and fuels. Through refineries and chemical plants, Eni processes crude oil and other oil-based feedstock to produce fuels, lubricants and chemical products that are supplied to wholesalers or through retail networks or distributors.