Venezuela, China Sign $11 Billion Oil, Transport Agreements

[SoCalDem]

Venezuela, China Sign $11 Billion Oil, Transport Agreements
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aEWFt28xTNkQ&refer=news
By Peter Wilson and Allen T Cheng

Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, has signed at least eight accords with China, including agreements on energy and banking, as it seeks to lessen its dependence on the U.S., President Hugo Chavez said. China will invest $9 billion to help Venezuela build a railway line and $2 billion on the country's oil industry, Chavez, who is on a five-day official visit to the world's fourth-largest economy, said in Beijing today. The country will double fuel sales to China next year to 300,000 barrels a day and more than triple them within five years to half a million barrels a day, he said earlier today in an interview with Venezuelan state television.

``We are going to reach 500,000 barrels within five years,'' Chavez said, up from 150,000 barrels a day now. China imported just 14,000 barrels a day from Venezuela in 2004. Chavez has sought to lessen Venezuela's dependence on the U.S., which buys about two-thirds of the country's daily exports of 2 million barrels. Chavez, who took office in 1999, has repeatedly threatened to cut off sales to the U.S., alleging its government has attempted to assassinate or overthrow him. Chavez's visit is an attempt by China to tell the U.S. that it has influence in South America and that it supports Venezuela's efforts to move away from the U.S., said James Brock, a Beijing-based independent energy adviser for major foreign oil companies.

Cooperation

The visit will ``push forward the development of our bilateral relations'' and promote cooperation on ``all aspects'' China's President Hu Jintao said at a welcoming ceremony. State oil company Petroleos de Venezuela has signed an agreement with China National Petroleum Corp., the parent of China's largest oil company, to form a joint venture to manage and produce oil from the fields in the Zumano region and the Orenoco Oil Belt, Chavez said. No further details were available.

Zumano has proven reserves of about 400 million barrels of light oil and 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Petroleos de Venezuela will hold a majority stake in the enterprise. The Zumano fields are currently producing about 25,000 barrels a day. The two companies will also form a joint venture to certify reserves in the Junin 4 tract, one of Venezuela's heavy oil blocks. Venezuela is seeking to certify reserves in 27 blocks, which Chavez says may hold up to 235 billion barrels of oil.

snip...

[AndyA]

1. Everybody better fill up...yet another reason to raise gas prices!

China can afford to make deals like this largely due to their robust economy, due in large part to Wal-Mart. So, America, remember when you pull into a Wal-Mart parking lot in your foreign car, you're actually costing us more at the pump, and you're putting thousands of your fellow Americans out of work.

Don't shop at Wal-Mart and buy American. Have pride in your country.

[Double T]

7. You can shop at wal-mart, BUT only buy American Products

[SoCalDem]

9. That's getting harder and harder to do..n/t

[Double T]

10. Agreed......mainly buy American made food products ONLY

[AndyA]

15. Wal-Mart has opened one of their "Neighborhood Markets" a mile from

where I live. These only carry groceries and have a Murray Oil station in the parking lot. Since this store opened, an IGA store two miles to the south has closed, and an Albertson's that was formerly open 24/7 has reduced its business hours dramatically.

That and the fact that I notice a disproportionate amount of "W" stickers on cars in the parking lot, I go elsewhere, even if it means I pay more and must pass a Wal-Mart facility along the way. I just cannot bring myself to "shop with the enemy."

[Double T]

18. wal-mart, along with ALL the other 'big box' stores are a collective......

real big problem. corporate america and wall street are the biggest problem.

[AndyA]

14. I just can't bring myself to shop at Wal-Mart. I have a friend who's

an attorney, and he has told me about some of their employment violations. The way they treat some of their employees is a shame.

Add to that their support of a foreign government, the American companies they've put out of business over the years, their shady development deals around the country, and their business practice of coming into an area with low prices, waiting until the competition closes, then raising prices when they're the only store in town, prevents me from supporting them.

To me, Wal-Mart is a textbook example of everything that's wrong in America today.

[Double T]

19. corporate america treats most of their employees like crap.....

until the American Consumer and Worker revolution begins, it will be business as usual. Corporations are largely run by criminals masquerading as legitimate business people.

[oc2002]

2. Chavez better watch his back. There is no doubt a CIA group to kill him.

if the coup does not take, then we must obliterate!

[SoCalDem]

3. He's being cagey.. With China as an ally and primo customer,

Hugo has a bought himself a bit of an insurance policy.. Does anyone think that China would stand idly by and let "their" contracted oil be jeopardized by a Bush tantrum?

[oc2002]

4. possibly. What could china do anyway? They are too far away and do not

have the military capacity as yet to project any will in this hemisphere. They could only hurt us by dumping our worthless IOU's or just not buying them, but that would hurt them too. The economic card is like throwing a stone at a window, the whole thing could just colapse. And China knows it.

[SoCalDem]

6. Possibly, but it would be easy to embarrass the US ..

China is the 800lb gorilla, and with a foothold in our hemisphere, they cannot be discounted.. They also made some sweeping deals with Chile & Bolivia..

They are going after the energy reserves that we once thought were "ours"..

[peacetalksforall]

5. So while Rome burns, China rises. While our inept and hate filled

administration blunders and accuses, China rises. While we are stuck with the most stupid and vile of leaders who stall this country in their hate and plans for the second axis of evil (Venezuela, Cuba, and Bolivia), China rises.

I don't think this is just a deal, I think it s a major earth change.

Brought to us by our crazy, lazy, stubborn, hate filled administration.

Lazy = Mz. Liar wouldn't even read the letter from Iran.

The only reason we didn't invade Venezuela and take it over before this deal with China, is that our kids are not volunteering for invasion duty in big enough numbers.

[SoCalDem]

8. And it means jobs for Venezuelans.. Those longterm, BIG projects

only bolster Hugo's popularity at home, and make it more difficult for the CIA to foment rebellion against him..
Happy, employed people do not light the torches and storm the palace :)

[peacetalksforall]

17. Exactly. Pefect point. We can also say South America rising. That

really gets to the barons/PNAC/CEO's and their government operatives and manipulators. Rising South America is the exact opposite of all their efforts of domination over the last five decades. Keep the people down and bribe the Presidents and military and get their help for our CEO's and barons.

[ThomWV]

11. This is Huge

The implications for US gas prices is huge. We get much of our oil from the dear south, if its going to head to China there is no replacement for our needs other than western tar sands, and that presents an ecological mess the likes of which this country has never seen.

[paulk]

20. hopefully it will convince Americans

that we need to make a real investment in alternative energies.

-------------


not that that will help the coming ecological mess in China ...

[leesa]

12. I hope Chavez remembered to send a memo to his new US spy chief

Negroponte doesn't like to read about things in the newspaper.

[Dhalgren]

13. Good for Venezuela! Good for China! The more the US is

marginalized the better. The more Americans who begin to see that WE are the cause of a lot of our own and the world's problems the better. I think that every country in the world should just turn its collective back on the US until we figure out how to rid ourselves of this hideous, embarrassing, murderous dictatorship. But the other countries had better watch their backs, because we have always been and continue to be pitiless backstabbers...

[oc2002]

16. exactly. I would not be surprise to hear Chavez is killed by a bomb

planted on his plane or car.