CNPC and Venezuela to bulid new oil JV

Petroleos de Venezuela SA and China National Petroleum Corp will form a joint venture in Venezuela's Orinoco Belt, worth of about US$2 billion, according to sources.

Zhou Jiping, CNPC vice president, and Venezuelan Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez, who is also president of the state energy firm PDVSA, signed the agreement on Friday.

The projected new joint venture is designed to supply a new 400,000 barrel-a-day refinery which will start its operation in 2013 in Southern China. The venture will pump oil from an area known as "Junin 4" in Venezuela's Orinoco basin, where CNPC has quantified reserves.

China is securing long-term energy supply deals worldwide to satisfy its growing needs, according to Bloomberg News. Chinese oil consumption will rise 5.3 % this year, the International Energy Agency said in January 2008.