The energy company North American Blue Energy Partners (Nabep) began the deployment of 11 new overhaul and maintenance drills (workover) of 550 horsepower in Venezuelan oil fields. This is the first entry of mobile systems of this type into the country in more than 15 years.
The incorporation of this equipment is in addition to the arrival, on October 7, of two 1,500 horsepower drilling rigs. The firm reported that it expects the arrival of additional machinery in the coming weeks to support its operations in Lake Maracaibo and the Orinoco oil belt.
The lot – according to the company – complements a fleet that already has 60 acquired drills, 30 steam boilers and 70 pieces of heavy machinery, which makes up the largest park of heavy equipment in the industry on a national scale.
«Nabep is making firm progress in increasing oil production. Each drill that arrives in Venezuela brings us closer to our operational goals and to revitalizing the country’s economy,” said the company’s executive director, Alejandro Betancourt.
The arrival of the equipment responds to an agreement signed in August between Nabep and the United States Departments of State and War, focused on expanding crude oil extraction capacity in Venezuelan territory.
The company claims to manage commercial rights over more than 65,000 million barrels in proven reserves (P1) and projects disbursements close to 100,000 million dollars for infrastructure and well optimization.
In the last two years, the operator increased its extraction from approximately 18,000 barrels per day to exceed the current 200,000 bpd, after its own investment estimated at 1 billion dollars. The short-term objective is to achieve production of more than one million barrels per day.
Nabep maintains a payroll of 5,000 direct workers and supports another 10,000 contractor employees in the countrywith operational headquarters in Caracas, Maracaibo and Lechería.
