North American Blue Energy Partners restarts key refinery furnace in Orinoco Belt
NABEP has brought a major furnace back online at its Zuata 2 facility, projecting an output increase of up to 10,000 barrels per day.
North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) has restarted a key furnace at its Zuata 2 facility in Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt. The unit, which had been offline for five years, is essential for heating heavy crude to ensure water separation, a necessary step to meet industry standards for sale.
The company estimates that the furnace will add between 8,000 and 10,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) to its output. This restart follows a period of significant scaling for the firm, which has seen its total daily production grow from approximately 18,000 bpd two years ago to over 223,000 bpd as of mid-October.
"Capacities that had remained unused for years are operational again," said CEO Alejandro Betancourt. The company is operating under agreements to increase Venezuelan oil production, with its first shipment under these terms arriving in Texas in late October.
NABEP currently controls marketing rights to more than 65 billion barrels of P1 oil reserves in Venezuela. The firm maintains an output target of 500,000 barrels per day by the end of 2028, supported by approximately $1 billion in internal investment over the past two years.