Reply #4: Italy’s Eni to invest $4bn in Venezuela [View All]

[Judi Lynn]

Italy’s Eni to invest $4bn in Venezuela
By Ed Crooks and Megan Murphy in London

Published: February 29 2008 22:14 | Last updated: February 29 2008 22:14

Eni, the Italian oil and gas group, plans to invest $4bn in Venezuela, making the biggest commitment by a western oil company since President Hugo Chávez began to take control of the country’s oil projects in 2005.

Eni has reached agreement in principle with PDVSA, Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, to develop an area of the Orinoco belt – on some measures the world’s largest oil reserve.

The investment would expose Eni to the risk of further expropriation by Mr Chávez, while giving it access to Venezuela’s huge reserves ahead of its European and US competitors.

Paolo Scaroni, Eni’s chief executive, and Rafael Ramírez, Venezuela’s energy minister, were expected to sign the deal in Caracas last night, in the presence of Mr Chávez and Massimo D’Alema, Italy’s foreign ­minister.

The deal is the most concrete sign yet of Venezuela’s enthusiasm for foreign investment to revive its ailing oil industry.

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