[NYTr] PETROCARIBE Roundup & Venezuela Energy News Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 12:02:58 -0400 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit excerpted from VIO Venezuela News Roundup - Aug 13, 2007 AP via The Washington Post - August 12, 2007 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/11/AR2007081100894.html Chavez Deepens Petrocaribe Oil Pledges By Jorge Rueda The Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez pledged on Saturday to meet Caribbean nations' oil needs for years to come, and urged the region to unite and seek greater independence from the United States. Chavez deepened past pledges to share his country's oil wealth as he addressed a summit of nations taking part in Venezuela's Petrocaribe oil initiative, which supplies fuel under preferential terms. "If we truly unite ... the grandchildren of our grandchildren will have no energy problems," Chavez said. He predicted oil prices will soon hit $100 a barrel but said "the Caribbean shouldn't have problems this century and beyond." "Venezuela puts this oil wealth at the disposition of our peoples of the Caribbean," Chavez said. "It belongs to all of us. We're going to share it like Christ. ... It will be enough for everyone." Venezuela still counts the United States as its top oil buyer, although Chavez has sought to diversify his clientele amid tensions with Washington by selling more to Latin America, the Caribbean and as far away as China. Since 2005, when Chavez created Petrocaribe, 14 countries have joined Venezuela's pact, which lets them finance up to half their oil bills over 25 years at low interest. That number expanded to 15 on Saturday with the addition of Nicaragua, whose president Daniel Ortega attended the talks. Leaders of nine countries signed a treaty proposed by Chavez in which Venezuela pledges to guarantee energy supplies and help the nations develop alternative energy sources. Countries that signed were Haiti, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Suriname, Dominica, Belize and Cuba. Under Petrocaribe, nations are generally allowed to pay off part of their oil bills in goods and services. Dominican President Leonel Fernandez said his country hopes to begin an exchange program offering hotel and tourism training to visiting Venezuelans. Caribbean countries have already financed nearly $1 billion in fuel purchases, and due to interest as low as 1 percent, have seen savings of $450 million, Chavez said. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Friday that Venezuela is also making progress helping upgrade or build refineries in Cuba, Jamaica and Dominica _ an effort that comes as Chavez's government seeks to decrease its reliance on a network of U.S. refineries. Chavez used the meeting to support his ally Cuba, saying the island is regularly excluded from other summits. Blaming the U.S., he recalled a 2005 gathering in Argentina and said: "How is it that we accept Cuba not going to that meeting?" "I swear by my mother ... if there is another one of those summits and Cuba doesn't go, Venezuela won't go to that summit either because it doesn't seem fair," Chavez said. "I know most of you talk with the U.S. government, the majority of our friends in the Caribbean, except Cuba and us," Chavez added. "But I hope someday we can all sit down at the same table, as equals and with respect, with the president of the United States, whoever it is." He also proposed to one day build an undersea natural gas pipeline stretching from gas-rich Venezuela to Cuba and possibly Mexico. He said it would touch the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, and added, "When will Puerto Rico be free? The day will come." *** Bloomberg = August 10, 2007 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aYqZiC7wbLm0 Venezuela, Bolivia Form Joint Natural Gas Venture By Matthew Walter and Matthew Craze Venezuela and Bolivia agreed to form a joint venture to explore for natural gas in Bolivia, the country with the second-largest reserves in South America. Venezuelan state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA will spend $800 million on exploration in the country, Bolivian state information agency ABI reported. PDVSA, as the company is known, will form the venture with Bolivian state energy company YPF Bolivianos. ``Together we're going to bring investment, and we're going to find more gas in Bolivia,'' Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said in a Telesur network broadcast. Bolivia, Argentina and Venezuela signed an energy cooperation agreement today in Bolivia, ending Chavez's week- long tour of South America in which he has offered to use more of his country's oil reserves and income to provide financial and energy security to his allies. The joint venture with Bolivia, called Petroandina, will be financed by revenue from Venezuelan oil, said Julio Montes, Venezuela's ambassador to Bolivia, according to ABI. Venezuela's government will also help finance a gas- separation plant in Bolivia's southern Tarija province that is being built by Argentine state-energy company Enarsa and YPF Bolivianos, the agency said. Venezuela also plans to build a 100-megawatt power plant in the eastern Bolivian province of Cochabamba. *** Reuters - August 9, 2007 http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN0921973220070809 Venezuela rules out oil output hike By Alonso Soto QUITO - Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez told Reuters on Thursday he believed world oil inventories were currently much higher than average and there was no need to increase crude production. Consumer nations, especially the United States, have begun urging OPEC producers including Venezuela to increase output to curb rising energy costs as world crude prices surge to record highs. Oil hit a high of $78.77 a barrel last week. "The levels of inventories are much higher than average," Ramirez said during a visit to Ecuador. "There is no need to increase production." His comments came as industry sources said Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, would keep crude oil supply curbs steady to customers in Japan and Europe in September from August. Ramirez also said he saw no threat of arbitration in talks with ConocoPhillips (COP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) over Orinoco extra heavy oil field operations. Venezuela's government is continuing to hold talks with the two companies over compensation for their recently nationalized assets in the Orinoco area. Exxon and Conoco quit their operations in Venezuela in June after left-wing President Hugo Chavez ordered the take over of their facilities in the heavy oil belt. Four other oil majors signed deals allowing the government a majority stake. The two companies can negotiate over compensation from Venezuela for their lost assets or even seek legal action that might end up in international arbitration. Venezuela says the talks are still ongoing. *** AP via International Herald Tribune - August 10, 2007 http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/10/business/LA-FIN-Venezuela-Oil.php Venezuela's oil minister says OPEC should maintain cuts and leave output unchanged The Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela: Venezuela will urge the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to maintain existing oil production cuts and keep output levels unchanged, Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Friday. "We believe that the oil cuts must be left in place, and we have carried them out," Ramirez told reporters at a summit of Caribbean leaders participating in a Venezuelan oil-supply pact called Petrocaribe. Ramirez said Venezuela will make its proposal when the OPEC meets in late September. He also said Venezuela continues talks with foreign oil companies involved in extracting heavy crude in the Orinoco River basin that have been forced to cede majority control. President Hugo Chavez's government took over operational control of oil fields in the eastern Orinoco on May 1 and is now in the process of forming new joint ventures with companies including U.S.-based Chevron Corp., Britain's BP PLC, France's Total SA and Norway's Statoil ASA. "We are ready to create the new mixed companies," Ramirez said. Ramirez said no decision has been made as to how state-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA plans to pay the companies for their investments. He added that talks are also continuing with Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips, which chose not to participate under the new, tougher terms. * ================================================================= .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org . List Archives: https://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ . 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