Mar. 14 - PetroJunín, a joint venture between PDVSA (60%) and Eni (40%), started production from the heavy oil giant field Junin-5, in the Faja del Orinoco (the area with the greatest untapped reserves of hydrocarbons in the world). The block is located 550 kilometers south-east of Caracas and covers an area of approximately 425 km2. Block Junín-5, currently under development, has a capacity of 35 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) and is managed jointly by the two joint ventures (Empresa Mixta) owned by PDVSA (60%) and Eni (40%). PetroJunín focuses on the oil field development and production while PetroBicentenario on the construction and operation of a refinery in the industrial complex of Jose, with a capacity of 350,000 barrels per day. The start of production, with today's commissioning of the first well, was achieved nine months in advance. PDVSA and Eni will produce, by the end of 2013, approximately 15,000 boe per day while they aim at
75,000 boe per day by the beginning of 2015, from 180 wells. Phase 2, on the completion of the development of the field (full field), will allow to reach a production of 240,000 boe per day by the end of 2018. For the expected 40-year life cycle of the field, approximately 1,500 wells will be drilled.

GETTING THE CRUDE OIL TO PETROBICENTENARIO
Unrefined oil from Junín-5 will be transported to the PetroBicentenario refinery in Jose, and converted into refined products, including gasoline, diesel and LPG valid for export. In Venezuela, ENI is co-operator on Cardon IV, the operating company that manages the super-giant Perla gas field, whose reserves are estimated at about 17 billion cubic meters (3.1 billion boe). Perla’s shareholders, after the entry of PDVSA in the project, are divided as follows: PDVSA (35%), Eni (32.5%) and Repsol (32.5%). Eni also plays a part in Petrosucre, which operates on the offshore Corocoro (PDVSA 74%, Eni 26%), with a daily ENI production of approximately 10,000 barrels of oil per day.