Madrid - The Spanish-Argentine oil giant Repsol has made its biggest ever gas discovery off Venezuela, the company said Friday in Madrid.

The reserves of the Cardon IV field amounted to the equivalent of up to 1.4 billion oil barrels, enough to cover Spain's gas needs for five years.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez already announced the find when visiting Spain in September, but its extent was not yet clear at the time.

Repsol described the discovery as the biggest so far in Venezuela and as one of the five biggest worldwide this year.

Repsol and its Italian partner Eni will take a 32.5 per cent stake each in the project, while the Venezuelan oil concern PdVSA will hold 35 per cent.

Repsol shares went up 2 per cent on the Madrid stock exchange following the announcement. (dpa)