The Venezuelan Minister of Petroleum and Mining, Eulogio del Pino, has declared that the daily production of crude oil from Orinoco Oil Belt has increased from 20,000 to 30,000 b/d, thus benefiting the whole region, cited Prensa Latina.

Del Pino has also signed the agreements to revive an old oil refinery and other joint development plans with Aruba. Aruba will invest $450m to $650m to reactivate the oil refinery that has been idle since 2012 and the refinery is expected to process up to 209,000 b/d of of Venezuelan extra-heavy crude into intermediate crude, according to AP.

The Venezuelan Minister, who is also the President of the state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, stressed the importance of the refinery start-up following the increase in production capacities in the Oil Belt, which covers the states of Anzoategui, Monagas, Guarico, and Bolivar.

The Aruba oil refinery is the fifth facility that Petroleos de Venezuela operates in the Caribbean, along with others in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Curacao, and Cuba.