President Hugo Chávez' Government said Cuba, jointly with Venezuelan state-run oil conglomerate Pdvsa, is participating in the quantification of oil reserves in heavy-crude oil Orinoco belt.

In a press release, they explained that both countries are taking part in joint projects of prospecting and certification of hydrocarbon reservoirs at the Orinoco oil belt and in Cuban waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Under these two agreements, initialed by Pdvsa and Cubapetroleo (Cupet), both countries are to conduct prospecting and reserve certification at Boyacá Norte Block of the Orinoco oil belt, as well as in blocks N53, N54, N58 and N59 in Cuban waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Reserves certification is part of the Orinoco Magna Reserva project the Venezuelan Government is advancing with the participation of a number of foreign state oil firms, such as Brazilian Petrobras, China National Petroleum Corporation, Russian Lukoil, Russian Gazprom, Spanish Repsol, Indian ONGC, and Iranian Petropars.