Venezuela Says Repsol's Natural Gas Discovery Confirmed

Venezuela's government said Thursday that tests confirm a huge natural gas discovery recently announced by Spain's Repsol YPF SA (REP).

"The testing period finished Thursday ... confirming the discovery of estimated reserves of 8 trillion cubic feet of gas," Venezuela's Communications Ministry said in a statement.

Repsol announced the discovery, its biggest find ever, last month, following exploration in partnership with Italy's Eni SPA (E) at the offshore Perla 1 well in the Gulf of Venezuela.

"We're setting up Venezuela to be one of the tops in the planet in terms of proven natural gas reserves," said President Hugo Chavez in the statement. "It's the biggest gas find in the history of Venezuela."

Repsol and Eni would each have a 32.5% stake in future output from the field, while Venezuelan state-oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, or PdVSA, would get a 35% stake.

-By Dan Molinski, Dow Jones Newswires; 58-212-284-5651; [e-mail]