"Investments this year should be US$30mn-40mn," Prieto said. The main expenditure this year will be drilling a new well, he added. Current production of 100-150Mf3/d makes Ypergas the largest private producer in Venezuela. The company has invested US$145mn since 2002 and started production in 2004.

Ypergas to invest US$40mn this year, sees output tripling by 2009 - Venezuela

Venezuelan natural gas production consortium Ypergas plans to invest up to US$40mn this year in its Yucal Placer field in Guárico state to triple present production to some 400 million cubic feet a day (Mf3/d) by 2009, Ypergas institutional relations manager Eudis Prieto told BNamericas. 

The consortium has not considered building a power plant to burn its gas because the field is so close to gas transport infrastructure that it prefers to place the gas there, Prieto said.

France's Total (NYSE: TOT) owns 70% of Ypergas, Spain's Repsol YPF (NYSE: REP) owns 15% and Venezuelan companies Inelectra and Otepi have 10.2% and 5.3% respectively.

By  Carlos Camacho
BNamericas.com

http://www.bnamericas.com/story.jsp?sector=9&noticia=354993&idioma=I