Russian vice prime minister arrives in Venezuela on visit.

CARACAS, October 6 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Vice Prime Minister Igor
Sechin has arrived in Venezuela on a two-day working visit.
He will have talks with the country's top leadership and visit
bilateral economic cooperation sites.
As co-chair of the Russian-Venezuelan High-Level Inter-Governmental
Commission, Sechin will meet with Vice President Elias Jaua, who heads the
Venezuelan part of the commission.
Sechin is also scheduled to attend the opening ceremony at a branch of
the Russian-Venezuelan bank, the main office of which is in Moscow. The
bank was created in June 2009 as a tool of financial support for joint
projects.
In addition, Sechin will take a trip to the Orinoco oil region where
the National Petroleum Consortium created in 2008 is developing the Junin
6 oil deposit. The consortium involves Russia's LUKOIL, Rosneft,
Surguteneftegas, TNK-BP, and Gazprom Neft.
The deposit in the Orinoco River Basin can produce 400,000-450,000
barrels of crude a day.
Oil from this field may be shipped, among others, to the United
States. "Oil will go where buyers pay money for it. We do not rule out the
U.S. market of course," Sechin said earlier. "This is the closest market,
and the transportation route would be the shortest."
"If there are consumers, we will treat them with respect. It is
important though that the economic effect matches investments," he said.
Investments in the development of the Junin-6 oilfield in Venezuela
will exceed 10 billion U.S. dollars, Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said.
He said, however, that this was a tentative amount.
According to Shmatko, the oilfield should produce 450,000 barrels of
oil a day. "We think we have made an agreement on very attractive and
interesting terms," he said.
According to the deal between Russia and Venezuela, the consortium
will develop the Junin-6 block. It also hopes to bid in tenders for the
development of four Carabobo blocks. The consortium's combined investments
in the Junin-6 project may amount to about 30 billion U.S. dollars.
The long-term project for the development of the Junin-6 oilfield in
an area of 447.7 square kilometres envisages the production of 450,000
barrels of heavy and extra heavy oil daily. It covers the creation of
infrastructure and comprehensive development of the Orinoco oil belt area.
Preliminary estimates indicate that the Orinoco River basin contains
235 billion barrels of heavy and extra heavy oil. After the international
certification of all blocks of this field is completed, Venezuela's proven
and recoverable oil reserves will account for 314 billion barrels. The
country may rank first in the world in this respect.
According to Sechin, Venezuelan partners will have to "defend the main
economic terms [of the agreement] in the National Assembly of Venezuela:
and we hope that some time after that the consortium will begin physical
work in Venezuela".