Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA expects to start producing heavy crude from a test well in India in early 2006, PDVSA said.

The company said in a statement drilling will continue at the Baghewala field in the desert in Rajasthan state, where PDVSA is working jointly with state-run Oil India. "However, in the first quarter of 2006 we expect the well to be in full production," it said. The size of the reserve is estimated at 300 million barrels. PDVSA did not say how much the well will be producing per day. The well will be using Venezuelan steam injection technology to pump heavy crude to the surface.
PDVSA, a leading producer of heavy and extra-heavy crude, is responsible for the technological side of the project.