Oil production in Venezuela's western division centered on Zulia state has shown some signs of moving up in recent weeks, sources with state-owned PdV and other operators said.
Production in July and August moved more regularly to over 350,000 b/d instead dipping often to below that level, data from PdV reports seen by Argus indicated.
PdV's target for the division is 365,000 b/d, based on earlier reports.
PdV's Tia Juana operations district produced about 180,000 b/d in July and August, with 100,000 b/d in the Lagunillas district and 70,000-90,000 b/d in the Tomoporo district, for total output in Zulia of 350,000-370,000 b/d, sources in PdV and with its Petroregional del Lago joint venture with France's Maurel & Prom said.
Additional drilling rigs and machinery have moved into the state, helping to support production, Zulia's state oil chamber said. The chamber also expects the US deal with Barbados-based North American Blue Energy Partners (Nabep) meant to include eight fields onshore and offshore in Zulia state to further boost output.
Despite this recovery, Zulia crude production is still far below the roughly 1.5mn b/d it produced at its peak in 2004.
Power outages continue to plague operations, a source with more than 20 years of experience in oil operations in the area said.
"Corrosion of pipelines and facilities located near Lake Maracaibo" also continue to hurt production.
Expansion of existing joint ventures such as those with Chevron would also help the region, the source noted. Chevron produces about 120,000 b/d of Zulia state's output through its Petroboscan JV with PdV.
