UPDATE 2-Venezuela and Total to invest $25 bln in oil project

* Junin 10 field joins Chinese, Russian investments

* 10-year plan to ramp up oil output (Recasts with Total investment)

CARACAS, Sept 22 - France's Total and Venezuela will invest $25 billion to develop an oil field in the Orinoco region, part of the OPEC member's plan to greatly increase output in a decade with the help of foreign investors.

Already among the world's top oil exporters, Venezuela has announced $61 billion investments in recent weeks to develop its vast tar-like crude reserves, with large projects being assigned to allies China and Russia.

Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA said in a statement on Tuesday that Total's investment in the Junin 10 field included the construction of an oil refinery or upgrader to turn the extra heavy crude into exportable oil.

Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said that over the next 10 years Venezuela would produce an extra 3.05 million barrels per day. Venezuelan output is currently disputed, but the government says it produces around 3 million bpd.

"It's the new stage, we estimate 10 years of permanent work, investment, investment, investment, work, work and more work," Ramirez told reporters.

In recent weeks Venezuela has announced a joint venture with a consortium of Russian companies worth $20 billion at the Junin 6 field and another $16 billion project with China in the same region.

PDVSA did not give a time frame or production estimate for the project with Total. The French company already works with Venezuela in a joint venture, pumping crude in an Orinoco region project that the government took majority control of during a wave a nationalizations in 2007.

Ramirez also said he would meet next week with companies interested in bidding for the Carabobo oil blocks in the Orinoco belt.

The auction was delayed earlier this year as lower oil prices made some companies balk at the costs associated with developing the blocks.

Ramirez gave few details of next Tuesday's planned meeting beyond saying they would look at the economics of the projects and the makeup of consortiums.

"The companies are ready with their consortiums and what we are waiting for is to finalize some agreements, especially with regards to the economic aspects," he said.

Ramirez said in August that Venezuela aimed to finish the bidding by the end of this year in what would be the first such oil tender in socialist-run Venezuela for a decade.

Companies interested include Britain's BP, U.S.-based Chevron, China's state-owned CNPC, Colombia's Ecopetrol, Italian ENI and Portugal's Galp Energia.

The Carabobo Project aims to build three upgraders to turn the Orinoco belt's tar-like crude into oil for exports and produce around 200,000 barrels per day, with the initial investment seen between $10 billion and $20 billion per area.

Ramirez said that in the Junin fields, where foreign firms are forming joint ventures with state company PDVSA, the medium-term goal is to produce 1.85 million bpd.

Adding expected output of 1.2 million bpd from the Carabobo project, that would raise the medium-term goal for the whole Orinoco region to 3.05 million, he said.

Asked about the global industry, Ramirez said that $80 a barrel was a "reasonable price" for crude, though he did not give a time frame for that.

Oil prices jumped more than 2 percent on Tuesday to top $71 a barrel.