NEWS
Venezuela to cut back on US export project
Caracas, Aug 19 (LNG journal)
- The Venezuelan state oil and gas company, Petroleos de Venezuela, is presenting its strategic plans at a meeting in the capital on Friday that are likely to include the re-organisation of the $2.7 billion Mariscal Sucre project to supply liquefied natural gas to the United States.
Petroleos de Venezuela is expected to announce its intention to develop two gas fields for domestic use that were originally part of a project planned in 2002 to develop an LNG industry and export terminal with the help of two overseas partners, Royal Dutch Shell and Japanese contractor Mitsubishi Corp.
The planned Mariscal Sucre LNG project, which comprises four gas fields has been delayed on a number of occasions because of concerns about its viability when project costs were higher.
It is still expected to go ahead but on a reduced scale, according to reports from the conference.
Venezuela has Latin America 's largest reserves of natural gas but development of the gas fields has lagged behind crude oil and the country doesn't expect to meet its own domestic gas needs until 2008.
