PDVSA Announces Payment in Full of Hamaca Project Debt

Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (“PDVSA”) announced today that all of the outstanding senior indebtedness of the Hamaca heavy oil project in the Faja region of Venezuela was prepaid in full on Friday, December 14, 2007. A final prepayment of principal in an aggregate amount of approximately US$ 340 million, plus interest, was made on December 14, after an initial prepayment of principal in an aggregate amount of US$ 400 million, plus interest, was made on November 30, 2007. Prepayments were made out of project funds by Corpoguanipa, S.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of PDVSA, and Texaco Orinoco Resources Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chevron Corporation. The senior indebtedness consisted of a syndicated bank credit facility, with BNP Paribas as administrative agent, and a bank credit facility guaranteed by the Export-Import Bank of the United States, with Barclays Bank as facility agent.

About PDVSA

PDVSA is a corporation (sociedad anónima) organized under the laws of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (“Venezuela”). PDVSA is the holding company of a group of oil and gas companies engaged in exploration, development and production (upstream) operations in Venezuela, and sales, marketing, refining, transportation, infrastructure, storage and shipping (downsteam) operations in Venezuela, the Caribbean, North America, South America and Europe. PDVSA indirectly owns 100% of CITGO Petroleum Corporation, a refiner and marketer of transportation fuels, petrochemicals and other industrial oil-based products in the United States.