Harvest Natural Resources Inc., Houston, has begun exclusive negotiations with a third party for a specified time period for the possible sale of Harvest’s 32% interest in Petrodelta SA, its Venezuelan asset.
Petrodelta produced 11.39 million bbl of oil in 2011, up 33% on the year. Petrodelta has averaged 32,500 b/d of oil so far in 2012 compared with 31,205 b/d in calendar 2011.
The Venezuelan company sold 2.27 bcf of natural gas, up 3%. Petrodelta is operating three drilling rigs and one workover rig. Capital expenditures for development drilling and infrastructure are estimated to have been $137.5 million in 2011 compared with $98.7 million in 2010.
Petrodelta drilled and completed 15 successful development wells in calendar 2011 compared with 16 development wells in 2010.
Alan Petzet is Chief Editor-Exploration of Oil & Gas Journal in Houston. He is editor of the Weekly E&D Newsletter, emailed to OGJ subscribers, and a regular contributor to the OGJ Online subscriber website.
Petzet joined OGJ in 1981 after 13 years in the Tulsa World business-oil department. He was named OGJ Exploration Editor in 1990. A native of Tulsa, he has a BA in journalism from the University of Tulsa.
