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"Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) signed an agreement with Italian energy company ENI to expand heavy crude production during a ceremony led by Acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Tuesday in Caracas. The event was attended by Claudio Descalzi, Chief Executive Officer of ENI, Hydrocarbons Minister Paula Henao, and PDVSA President Hector Andres Obregon. During his remarks, ENI's CEO said the company 'never left Venezuela.' "We are the only company developing and delivering gas to the domestic market. So we never left Venezuela. We continue to produce gas, and through this agreement that we signed today, I think that we are really putting the basis for additional investment for the domestic market in gas and for the future," said Claudio Descalzi. Delcy Rodriguez said that the agreement marked 'a milestone' in ENI-Venezuela relations and would help strengthen the country's oil industry. "ENI did not leave the country; ENI stayed in Venezuela, and we have been able to strengthen our cooperation. I want to recognise this Italian company, a European company, for maintaining its ties with Venezuela," she said. She said the agreement aims to boost crude production by developing Venezuela's available reserves, calling it "one of the most important investments" made in the country in recent years. The deal aims to relaunch operations slowed by years of sanctions and underinvestment. It covers Junin 5, an extra-heavy crude field in the Orinoco Oil Belt with an estimated 35 billion barrels of oil in place. PDVSA holds 60 per cent of the project and Eni 40 per cent. It also covers ENI's gas projects, including the offshore Perla field, where the company and Spain's Repsol are seeking to increase production for domestic use and possible future exports to Europe."
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