The Orinoco Oil Belt (OOB), a vast territory of 35,314 square kilometers without public service utilities or industrial facilities, remains a challenge for the takeoff of early production in new oil developments undertaken by Pdvsa and domestic and foreign partners, namely: CNPC, ENI, Repsol, Rosneft, Chevron or Gazprom.

Present production at the OOB, including traditional areas that were seized by the Venezuelan State in 2007 and new developments, amounts to 1.21 million barrels per day (bpd).

Last year, Pdvsa expected this number to end in 2013 at 1.5 million bpd. When five weeks are away from the yearend, 80% of the volumetric target of average production has been attained.

This contrasts with an increase of 3.4% recorded last year, averaging 1.17 million bpd.