Total has signed an agreement with the Norwegian company Statoil to take a 49% stake in the Plataforma Deltana Block 4 licence, offshore to the northwest of the Orinoco Delta in Venezuela.  This agreement is subject to the approval of the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum of the Venezuelan Bolivarian Republic.

The license covers an area of approximately 1,400 square kilometres in water depths varying from 200 to 800 metres.  It is situated in a major prospective offshore gas area where several significant discoveries have already been made.  The minimum exploration program calls for the drilling of three wells with the first well, Ballena-1X, ongoing.

This latest agreement is in line with Total’s strategy of development in Venezuela.  The Group is one of the largest foreign investors with a participation of 47% in the Sincor project, in partnership with PDVSA and Statoil, producing and upgrading more than 200 000 barrels per day of extra heavy oil from the Orinoco belt. Total also produces around 30,000 barrels of light oil per day from the Jusepin field as well as close to 100 million cubic feet of gas per day from the Yucal Placer field.