UPDATE 1-Venezuela looks for help to triple Orinoco output
(Adds Carabobo, Petrobras detail)
CARACAS, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Venezuela aims to more than triple output from its Orinoco heavy crude reserve in five years and will start looking for companies that can help achieve that goal from January, the national oil company said on Saturday.
State-owned oil company PDVSA said it would develop new projects to produce 2 million barrels per day from the Orinoco region within five years.
Recently nationalized projects in the Orinoco now produce a little more than 600,000 barrels a day, PDVSA said.
"Given the success obtained in the Orinoco oil belt, a process of selection will start in January to select partner companies with minority participation in integrated improvement and production developments," PDVSA said in a statement.
Venezuela's left-wing government took over several Orinoco oil projects earlier this year, and persuaded companies like Chevron (CVX.N) and BP (BP.L) to accept minority holdings under new terms.
Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and ConocoPhillips (COP.N) quit the OPEC nation over the takeovers.
PDVSA said its first new project would be at the Carabobo 1 field, which it has been exploring with Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA).
Petrobras said on Thursday it was likely to reduce its planned stake in the Carabobo project due to high costs. (Reporting by Deisy Buitrago; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
