Investment plans for the Venezuelan mining sector

 The northern zone of southeastern Bolivar state, where the basic steel, iron and mining industries are located, will be subject to a series of projects funded by state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, along with the Venezuelan Corporation of Guayana(CVG), soon to be announced by the president of Venezuela.

The president of the state's oil powerhouse and incumbent minister of Petroleum and Mining, Rafael Ramírez, announced that an investment and work plan would be aimed at linking the production of basic companies of the Guayana region with the development of downstream industries to supply Pdvsa itself.

"We are a force to be reckoned with in regard to raw materials, but we must develop our downstream sector processing and transformation to produce special types of steel for the maritime industry," claims Ramirez. He also highlights that the Oil Sowing Plan includes building 5 crude-enhancement processors similar to those in the Jose Industrial Complex, as well as "a refinery up north and another one in Cabruta; 3 maritime terminals, one up north and two in the Orinoco region. We have to develop barges, vessels, transportation routes and a large highway spanning from San Fernando de Apure to Tucupita, as well as restoring all adjacent roads."

For Ramírez, Pdvsa and CVG complement one another through their work. "All of the production requirements that the oil industry will have in the Orinoco Petroleum Belt region imply investments of approximately USD 80 billion through foreign companies. But we also have the Oil Sowing Plan, which will result in investments of USD 234 billion until 2019 and will require heaps of manufacturing products to create productive capacity."

The president of Pdvsa insists that the north of Guayana "houses all of the industrial and manufacturing facilities we will need
(...) We have primary production through Sidor, but there are tools and materials and treatments involved. This activity must be developed downstream." 

Translated by Félix Rojas Alva