Belarus, China to join Venezuelan oil deposit project

Belarus and China are to take part in the development of an oil field in Venezuela, Belarusian state television said on Wednesday. The project was discussed during a visit by a delegation of Belarusian officials to the Latin American state late last week, the report said. "We have received approval to work in a large oil-rich region together with Venezuela and China and extract hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a day," Belarusian presidential aide Viktor Sheiman was quoted as saying. In line with the agreement, the Belarusian-Venezuelan joint oil production company Petrolera BeloVenezolana will develop two more oil deposits in Venezuela, he said, adding that oil production will "increase many times" as a result. Belarus is currently involved in oil production at seven oil and six gas deposits in the Latin American country. By 2011, the extraction of oil is expected to reach 1.2 million tones, while gas extraction is planned at 1 billion cubic meters.