Oil industry faces "hard times": Venezuelan company executive

The president of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, Eulogio Del Pino, Wednesday said the industry is facing "hard times" in the wake of falling oil prices.

Speaking at the First Venezuelan Natural Gas Congress, held on Margarita Island in eastern Nueva Esparta state, Del Pino said "there are hard times ahead, difficult times from the perspective of the oil market. Let me tell you, we are prepared for the worst."

To make more crude available for export, and somewhat offset the losses in revenue, Venezuela plans to boost its domestic supply of natural gas by 750 million cubic feet by mid-2015, the Venezuelan News Agency (AVN) quoted the official as saying.

"Each molecule of gas that we introduce into the national market allows us to export greater amounts of liquid fuels," said Del Pinto.

In the coming days, he said, the PDVSA plans to put in place the infrastructure needed to run the El Sitio thermoelectric plant in Valles del Tuy, Aragua state, with natural gas.

The price of Venezuelan oil dropped for the ninth straight week to close Friday at 68.97 U.S. dollars per barrel. The figure, representing a 1.86-dollar drop compared to the week before, marked the lowest price in four years.

Venezuela is set to propose a cutback in oil production at a Thursday meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) in Vienna. The move aims to prop up the price of crude back to around 100 U.S. dollars per barrel.