Venezuela Cuts $20 Billion China Debt With 200,000 Barrel Shipments of Oil

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Bloomberg

Venezuela Cuts $20 Billion China Debt With 200,000 Barrel Shipments of Oil
By Daniel Cancel and Corina Rodriguez Pons - Aug 4, 2010 8:36 PM CT

Venezuela, the largest oil producer in South America, is shipping 200,000 barrels a day of oil to China to repay $20 billion of debt borrowed from the Asian nation to finance power, agriculture and technology projects.

The OPEC nation, planning to ramp up China shipments to 1 million barrels a day by 2012, is selling oil at market prices to repay the 10-year loan, Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said yesterday in an interview in Caracas. Shipments to repay the cash represent half Venezuela’s daily crude exports to China.

“We’re diversifying our export markets; our international policy is going in this direction,” Ramirez, also President of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, said at his office beneath paintings of Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. “We don’t cut prices in any of our international agreements.”

Venezuela is tapping Asian nations that need crude to fuel growth in their fast-growing economies for cash. President Hugo Chavez is seeking funds to restructure the country’s economy to provide more jobs for the poor and address power shortages.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-05/venezuela-cuts-20-billion-china-debt-with-200-000-barrel-shipments-of-oil.html

[Lucky Luciano]

1. The headline is misleading. I started to lick

My chops when it appeared that China would but a barrel of oil for $100,000!!

That would have been one hell of an arb! LOL

[Ikonoklast]

3. Especially Venezualan heavy sour crude.

The Chinese can have it.

[Prometheus Bound]

6. If a refinery is set up to process heavy, high sulfur crude oils, why wouldn't they want it?

Such refineries don't have a lot of use for light sweet crude oil, unless they blend it I guess.

[Ikonoklast]

8. Increased costs of refining the stuff, lower yields of lighter hydrocarbons.

It's more suitable for heating oil and bunker fuel than refined product for use in transportation, but then again, that might just be what the Chinese are looking for.

Plastics, too, IIRC.

[Fearless]

2. So why did they nationalize oil... Oh right... That view is clear.

[Arctic Dave]

4. it was only a matter of time before SA countries would start

diversifying their markets to Asia. All the hype about Venezuela's oil being heavy crude and the US was the only country in the whole wide world that could process it were laughable. China needs energy, having to add a couple of extra cracking units to process heavy oil wasn't going to stop them.

[Judi Lynn]

5. You're so right. We've heard that odd claim so many times here, too.

Oh, they're hopeless screwn, since the U.S. is the only client they could ever have, yadda yadda yadda. Sad.

[Prometheus Bound]

7. They seem to assume we don't have access to the Internet or something.

It takes about 10 seconds to find they're spouting nonsense.

[Judi Lynn]

15. They never use it to do any of their own homework, probably assume everyone else is the same! n/t

[bitchkitty]

13. But - but - but!

That oil has Chavez cooties all over it! :)

[Judi Lynn]

16. He's the Anti-Christ! n/t

[aquart]

12. They signed the deal while Bush was salivating over the Caspian Basin.

I remember reading about it and repeating over and over "We are idiots. We are idiots."

[Peace Patriot]

9. "...beneath paintings of Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Che Guevara"!!!

"...beneath paintings of Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Che Guevara"!!!

"...beneath paintings of Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Che Guevara"!!!

"...BENEATH PAINTINGS OF CUBA'S FIDEL CASTRO AND CHE GUEVARA"!!!


Lord, how I loathe the corpo-fascist press!

[arikara]

10. And did you know that his office

is also adorned with a statue of South American liberation hero Simon Bolivar?

[bitchkitty]

17. Wow, what a coincidence! My wall is adorned with the selfsame hero! LOL n/t

[laughingliberal]

11. K & R nt

[dipsydoodle]

14. K & R

:thumbsup:

[Judi Lynn]

18. John Perkins:Reject U.S. Corporatocracy Ambitions in Venezuela, Iran, against Wikileaks, and ...

Reject U.S. Corporatocracy Ambitions in Venezuela, Iran, against Wikileaks, and ...
John Perkins Author, Hoodwinked
Posted: August 6, 2010 04:07 PM

Venezuela, Colombia, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Wikileaks, BP, assassination squads - these are times that try our souls (to paraphrase Tom Paine). These are times that raise our ire. These are times for action!

I receive lots of emails about the subjects listed above. In recent days I have been inundated with emails from people who believe the U.S. is about to take action against the Chavez administration in Venezuela and that the action will appear as a grass-roots movement initiated in Colombia . Many ask me to speak out against this.

I have no inside information as to whether or not this is true but I do know that Washington was elated at the election of its puppet, Juan Manuel Santos, to the presidency of Colombia, by the agreement to establish seven new U.S. military bases on Colombian soil, and that "wars on drugs" are often supported by the CIA as a way of financing its own "Black Ops" and also as an excuse for donating US military aid to countries that then are required to purchase equipment made by the corporatocracy (this model was perfected by the British during the 1800s Opium Wars and further refined by the CIA in Asia's Golden Triangle).

Many of my Latin American friends are convinced that the rising drug violence in Mexico is a response to the success of the Colombia drug wars - that it reflects the corporatocracy's determination to take greater control over Mexico, and through it, Central America, and that it is manipulated by the CIA. I can not verify the validity of this theory but it would be not inconsistent with things I experienced as an economic hit man. The fact that so many people are so deeply suspicious of Washington's motives sends a strong signal.

More:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-perkins/reject-us-corporatocracy_b_673844.html

[daleo]

19. Chavez is paying off Venezuela's debt to China?

What a quaint notion. I thought Reagan proved that debts never need be paid, or something like that.

[timo]

20. no biggie

that just 20 billion less that china will buy from the arabs or other countries....

[unkachuck]

21. "...is selling oil at market prices to repay the 10-year loan,"

....it sounds like an economically responsible thing to do....

[Vidar]

22. Good for Chavez, Venezuela & China!

[robcon]

23. Venezuela is selling oil; China is buying it. What's the news value of this?

n/t