Petro-Canada pessimistic about Venezuelan field

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Regulatory turmoil in Venezuela has made it unlikely that the La Ceiba oil discovery will be developed in the near term, the CEO of half-owner Petro-Canada (PCA.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday.

Field operator Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) declared the discovery commercial in 2005 but the development of the 40,000 barrels per day field has been stalled amid the drive by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to secure a larger stake for the Venezuelan state in oil projects operated by foreign companies.

"To be honest we are not spending a lot of time on (La Ceiba)," said Petro-Canada Chief Executive Ron Brenneman at the Reuters Global Energy Summit in New York.

"We don't particularly see that development likely going ahead."

Exxon and Petro-Canada handed over formal control of operations at La Ceiba on May 1 under a preliminary agreement with Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA.

No timeframe has been established for completing the transition to the new contractual structure, Brenneman said.

With little of Petro-Canada's capital tied up in the project, the company can afford to take a wait-and-see attitude or dispose of field.

"We'll try to extract as much value as we can. The options are we could sell it if there's a market for it. There's an arbitration process if it is expropriated," Brenneman said.

(For summit blog: summitnotebook.reuters.com/)