Venezuela to open bid for Orinoco oil block

CARACAS, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Venezuela will open a bid round for private companies to develop the Carabobo I block of the OPEC nation's Orinoco heavy crude belt, state oil company PDVSA said on Saturday.

The company said in a statement that the Energy Ministry "already has everything it needs to announce the timeline, the conditions and the business model that will be developed in this bid."

The announcement comes only months after leftist President Hugo Chavez took over four multi-billion-dollar Orinoco projects as part of a drive toward socialism, pushing out Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and ConocoPhillips (COP.N) in the process.

Brazilian energy giant Petrobras (PETR4.SA) worked with state oil company PDVSA to certify Carabobo I oil reserves, which Venezuela says are close to 10 billion barrels.

Venezuela also signed a deal with France's Total (TOTF.PA) to certify reserves in a block of the Junin area of the vast Orinoco reserve.

Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez and Total's Cristophe de Margerie signed an agreement for the two companies to jointly certify a block of Orinoco belt reserves, the PDVSA statement said.

The Orinoco belt is a reserve in southeastern Venezuela that holds billions of barrels of heavy, tar-like oil that can be upgraded into lighter, more valuable crude. (Reporting by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Bill Trott)