SEATTLE (Oil Monster): Russia's LUKOIL has drilled the first of 17 wells to determine the volume of oil in Venezuela's "Junin 3" heavy crude block, the firm said on Thursday.
Venezuela plans to certify 235 billion barrels of Orinoco crude over the next two years but is shunning majors such as Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell in favor of political allies such as Iran, Russia and Vietnam.
Press reports last month quoted LUKOIL's president saying the firm was considering how to supply Venezuelan crude to U.S. refineries.
However, the company does not yet have any crude output from the Caribbean state and Venezuelan energy authorities said they had not heard about the proposal.
Courtesy: www.reuters.com
