Russian Consortium, PDVSA To Ink Oil JV Pact Apr 2 -Prime-Tass

Russia's National Oil Consortium and Venezuela's state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, are expected to sign April 2 a package of agreements setting up a joint venture to develop the Junin-6 oil block in Venezuela, a source in the Russian government said Wednesday according to the Prime-Tass news agency.

The agreements are expected to be signed during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to Venezuela.

The parties plan to sign an agreement on setting up and managing the joint venture, a foundation agreement, and charter of the joint venture, the source said.

The National Oil Consortium was created to conduct operations of Russian oil and gas companies in Venezuela. The members of the consortium are Rosneft (ROSN.RS), OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS), Lukoil Holdings (LKOH.RS), Surgutneftegas (SNGS.RS), and TNK-BP Holdings (TNBP.RS), each with a 20% stake.

PDVSA will hold 60% in the joint venture, while the consortium will hold 40%, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said earlier.

The Junin-6 oil block, with about 500 billion barrels of oil reserves, is located in Venezuela's Orinoco River region. The oil output at the block is expected to amount to 450,000 barrels of heavy oil a day by 2017.

Agency Web sites: www.prime-tass.com