By:
María José Barreto
The human resource of the Corporación Venezolana del Petróleo (CVP), has marked key milestones in the history of the Venezuelan oil industry, and the present and future of the national and international oil business, toward better opportunities for the human, social, and economic development of Venezuela.
In 2003 CVP, a subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), was revived and became a second tier corporation as PDVSA operational agreements, association agreements, and shared risks and earnings exploration agreements were successfully migrated to oil producing joint ventures, a sovereign business scheme.
CVP assumed the role of conceiving, managing and administrating joint ventures. This marked the beginning for CVP of a relentless struggle that ultimately ended the terrible Apertura Petrolera policy, and strengthened the full sovereignty of Venezuela over its hydrocarbon resources. Today, CVP has functional and administrative responsibility over 45 joint ventures located in the national territory.
After 14 years of revolutionary management, CVP has become a strategic PDVSA subsidiary. It ensures the production of light, medium, heavy and extra heavy crude oil while achieving a better financial and legal performance for its businesses.
The road to the development of the oil industry
CVP was created as a national oil company on April 19, 1960. In the 1990s, we had operating agreements in which PDVSA surrendered to third parties exploration and production activities, thus weakening national sovereignty.
After the Oil Sabotage (the strike and accompanying acts of sabotage against PDVSA in 2002 and 2003), CVP takes a new turn. President Hugo Chávez decided to broaden the purpose and scope of the Corporation. It becomes a special purpose subsidiary that not only administers and controls the business with third parties but also maximizes the value of hydrocarbons for the Venezuelan state thus ensuring the link between the benefits and the collective well-being.
Our main challenge is to develop Venezuela
Since its revival, CVP has been one of PDVSA’s executing arms to boost economic and endogenous development. The Fund for the Economic and Social Development of the Country (FONDESPA) was created to link hydrocarbon revenues with the national economy.
Later, a trust deed was signed between CVP and the Economic and Social Development Bank (BANDES), to fund the execution of projects and works including the Fabricio Ojeda Hydroelectric Power Station, sections of San Cristóbal-La Fría freeway, the subway systems for the cities of Maracaibo and Los Teques, the nucleus for endogenous development of Vuelvan Caras Mission, and others.
CVP also contributed to the Orinoco Oil Belt and Delta Amacuro Social Districts with the implementation of sustainable endogenous development plans, programs and projects for the benefit of the populations of the states of Guárico, Anzoátegui, Monagas, Apure, Bolívar and Delta Amacuro.
We quantified and certified the Belt
Corporación Venezolana del Petróleo executed one of the most important projects of the Venezuelan oil industry: the quantification and certification of reserves in the Orinoco Oil Belt (FPO), which in 2011 positioned Venezuela as the country with the largest reserves of liquid hydrocarbons in the world.
For the development of the Orinoco Magna Reserve Project, the FPO was divided into 27 blocks; 13 of them were quantified in joint efforts by CVP and 14 companies from countries that signed a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela. The rest of the blocks were quantified by PDVSA's own efforts, CVP and Intevep.
CVP and the true nationalization
On April 1, 2006, 21 joint ventures were created for the production of light, medium and heavy crude oil, which brought to an end one of the most harmful aspects of the Apertura Petrolera policy -operational agreements which allowed the exploitation of hydrocarbons in marginal fields with minimal revenues for the country.
On May 1, 2007, a new era began in the history of the energy business with the nationalization of the Orinoco Oil Belt. We recovered our energy resources, definitively putting an end to the Apertura Petrolera policy.
The effort to maintain the defense of national sovereignty is one of the fundamental pillars of our oil policy, adjusted to a new international business scheme committed to the development of the country.
Achievements of the Corporación Venezolana del Petróleo
With 14 years of history and following the Siembra Petrolera Plan, CVP staff created the Master Plan for Offshore Exploration and Development; a result of this was the central production platform of Corocoro field. We also supported projects such as the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho Industrial Complex (CIGMA), Mariscal Sucre and Deltana Platform.
Other key milestones were the creation of the Orinoco Socialist Project, designed to foster infrastructures for oil and non-oil services in the Orinoco Oil Belt and the Orinoco Socialist Oil Training Project, which lays the groundwork to incorporate young talent into the national oil business.
The 45 joint ventures of CVP have generated new investment opportunities, through the development of oil industry projects and business schemes located in the East, West, Belt and Offshore.
CVP joint ventures, in strategic partnerships with China, Belarus, Spain, Russia, Angola, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, United States, France, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Norway, United Kingdom, Vietnam and Venezuelan companies, will ensure to PDVSA Venezuelan oil production for the next 30 years.
