PetroFalcon Corporation, a publicly-traded natural resource company with oil and gas operations in Venezuela, has released an update for its 5%-owned joint venture, Baripetrol, S.A. ("Baripetrol"), which operates the Colon Block in western Venezuela.
PetroFalcon's wholly-owned subsidiary, Lundin Latina de Petroleos, S.A., recently received a dividend of US$1.9 million from Baripetrol for operations between January and September 2007. The current gross production of Baripetrol is approximately 10,500 barrels per day ("bbls/d") of oil and 5 million cubic feet per day ("mmcf/d") of natural gas, or 11,333 barrels of oil equivalent per day ("boe/d").
Baripetrol's board of directors recently approved a 2008 capital expenditures budget of US$60 million (5% net to PetroFalcon being US$3 million). The work program includes four development wells in the La Palma field, a 165-square-kilometer 3-D seismic campaign in the Socuavo field and twenty workovers in the Los Manueles and Rosario fields. A 2,000 HP Petrex drilling rig is scheduled to begin operations in April and is on long-term contract to Baripetrol through 2011.
PetroFalcon's President, Bill Gumma, said, "Our new joint venture with PDVSA, Baripetrol, has ambitious plans for 2008. Drilling will begin next month, and gross production is expected to increase to 15,000 bbls/d of oil and almost 10 mmcf/d of natural gas by the end of the year."
PetroFalcon's total working interest production before royalties, including both the PetroCumarebo and Baripetrol joint ventures, is now approximately 1,000 bbls/d of oil and 6 mmcf/d of natural gas, or 2,000 boe/d.
