Venezuela and Colombia have agreed to build a 200 km-long gas pipeline running from Colombian offshore gas wells to facilities in Venezuela's oil-rich city of Maracaibo, Venezuelan officials said on Tuesday.

The deal was struck between the two countries' national oil companies Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and Colombia Empresa Colombiana de Petroleo (Ecopetrol).

Carlos Santiago, Venezuela's ambassador to Bogota, told Venezuela's official Bolivarian News Agency (ABN) that the two companies would spend 300 million US dollars on the bi-national project.

The two companies reached the agreement after a series of meetings in Bogota, and the project was swiftly ratified by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe, the ambassador said. Chavez and Uribe will formally launch the project in January.

Santiago said some technical problems remained to be settled but if the first phase works well, the companies would undertake a second phase to extend the pipe to some Venezuelan gas wells.

This would occur when Colombian deposits are depleted, most likely in seven years. The second phase could bring Venezuelan gas to Colombia and central America.

Ecopetrol asked for help from PDVSA because it lacks the resources to finance the building of the pipelines by itself. The Andean Development Corporation will lend some money to pay for pipes and pumping stations.

Source: Xinhua