HOUSTON, TEXAS (By Pietro D. Pitts, Energy Analytics Institute, 16.Jan.2026, Words: 370) — Stepping back in time, in Aug. 2006, Venezuela’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum (or MENPET as it was known in the early 2000s) and state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) revealed plans that would see the Caribbean country incorporate 235.3 billion barrels of heavy crude oil over the course of 3 years. That is to say, during the 2006-2008 timeframe.
This, as part of the country’s plan “Siembra Petrolera,” being promoted heavily by then leader Hugo Chávez Frías. The plan took aim at developing 4 blocks in the Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt or Faja that contained an estimated 1,360.0 billion barrels of original oil in place (OOIP) based on estimates from PDVSA.
