Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company PDVSA’s new management anticipates to increase the country’s output to 1.17 million barrels per day.

Pedro Tellechea, the company’s new chief executive and a new board of directors

Aiming to cash on pending debt, optimize operations and boost production, PDVSA’s new chief executive, Pedro Tellechea, and a new board of directors this year have examined supply agreements and partnerships.

According Tellechea’s plan that was presented to workers, PDVSA expects to increase crude output by 390,000 barrels per day by year end, boost gas to 2.27 billion cubic feet, and ramp up refining by 20% so an extra volume of 90,000 bbl/d of fuel can be sold domestically.

The Petromonagas upgrader, which has been out of commission since December due to a fire, will be restarted next month as one of the essential projects to accomplish PDVSA’s targets. This upgrader will transform around 80,000 bbl/d of extra heavy oil into exportable crude.

Additionally, the business has developed a strategy to drill three exploration wells in the nation’s western region.