(WO) – North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) is deploying 11 new 550-hp workover rigs in Venezuela. According to the company, they are the first new mobile repair-and-maintenance rigs to operate in the country’s oil fields in more than 15 years. Two new 1,500-hp drilling rigs also arrived on Oct. 7, and NABEP said more equipment is expected soon.
The new rigs support NABEP’s ongoing production ramp-up. Separately, the company has bought 60 rigs, 30 steam boilers and 70 pieces of heavy machinery, which it says gives it the largest heavy-equipment fleet in Venezuela. “NABEP is making serious and steady progress in increasing oil production. Every rig that arrives in Venezuela brings us closer to reaching our production goals and revitalizing our country’s economy,” said CEO Alejandro Betancourt.
The purchases follow NABEP’s August agreement with the U.S. departments of State and War to significantly expand oil production in Venezuela. The company says it controls the rights to commercialize more than 65 Bbbl of P1 reserves in the country and plans to invest nearly $100 billion to raise production capacity and improve oil and gas infrastructure. NABEP is expanding its operations in Lake Maracaibo and the Orinoco Belt, with a near-term goal of raising output to more than 1 MMbpd.
Betancourt pointed to U.S. support as key to reaching that target. “The challenge ahead is large, but there is no better partner than the U.S. government,” he said. “We look forward to continuing to share our progress in the months ahead.”
NABEP said it has raised production from about 18,000 bpd to more than 200,000 bpd over two years, funded by roughly $1 billion of its own investment. It employs 5,000 people and supports 10,000 contract workers in Venezuela.
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