Venezuela Corocoro oilfield development starts-Eni

Forbes.com-Reuters, 04.23.03, 6:06 AM ET

MILAN, April 23 (Reuters) - A $480 million project to develop Venezuela's Corocoro oilfield has been launched, one of the partners in the project, Italy's biggest oil and gas group Eni <ENI.MI>, said on Wednesday.

The Corocoro field in the country's Gulf of Paria West area is expected to reach output of 55,000 barrels per day of crude oil by 2005.

Eni said in a statement that the Corocoro field's development would allow it boost production by 14,500 bpd and strengthen its position in Venezuela where it also operates the Dacion oilfield in the eastern part of the country.

The partners in the venture are ConocoPhillips (nyse: COP - news - people) with a 32.5 percent stake, Venezuela's state oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) with 35 percent, Eni with 26 percent and Taiwan's OPIC with 6.5 percent, Eni said.

Venezuela, world's No. 5 crude exporter, has been trying to revive an oil industry hit by a crippling anti-government general strike late last year and earlier this year.