The Venezuelan Institute for Petroleum Technology (INTEVEP) is a Venezuelan company which develops projects in the areas of refining, exploration and production of petroleum. Founded in 1976, the company began conducting research and development soon after. In 1977, a group of 75 professionals and technicians joined the company and by 1979, the company had established itself as a subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela. This allowed them to adopt policies and administrative activities that were aligned with the larger corporation. By 1985 their focus remained on transport and on improving the recovery of light and medium oil and the use of waste materials, as well as adjusting the processes of determining the quality of the product. In 1986, they began integrating emulsions technology into the production and handling of heavy oils and in order to suit the company’s new activities the company changed its name to INTEVEP SA, Research and Technology Support in 1989. During the 1990′s INTEVEP continued to work on new projects in order to support and expand the Venezuelan oil industry.