Petromacareo, a joint venture between Vietnam and Venezuela, has started exploiting oil at the Orinoco oil belt with an initial daily output of 800 barrels.

The figure is expected to reach 40,000 barrels per day after one year of operations, according to the Venezuelan News Agency.

Petromacareo is extracting oil at the Junin 2 bloc in Venezuela 's Orinoco oil belt, the world's largest oil reserve. The Junin 2 bloc is estimated to hold reserves that could fill 37 billion barrels.

The joint venture has been allowed to process and trade oil and other oil products during the next 25 years.

This is one of the Vietnam 's biggest oil and gas projects abroad. It's reported that Petromacareo has planned to invest nearly 3.9 billion USD in infrastructure, drilling wells and processing of oil by 2021. Its productivity has the potential to reach 200,000 barrels per day.

Last April, the Venezuelan State Oil Company and Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) agreed to expand the Dung Quat Oil Refinery in Vietnam to refine oil from Petromacareo. Venezuela is expected to export oil to Vietnam by 2015.

(VNA)