Target Venezuala?

[In short, what this says is that Hugo Chavez is literally daring the US to invade Venezuela. What's more, he is nearing the point of declaring a mutual defense pact which may not be far off. Given his recent sexual taunts of Condoleezza Rice (Chavez called her "an illiterate" who "seems to dream about me"), and his widely publicized world travel, such a move is not inconceivable.

In other words: If the US attacks Iran, Venezuela will also consider itself attacked and that a state of war will exist. When and if that declaration occurs it will be considered one of the final moves before open warfare begins; or before somebody backs down.

Note that Iran is Venezuela's closest partner in OPEC. Note also that Nigeria, which recently received Iranian President al Khatami, has just announced that it is signing deals with ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco. This, even after Nigeria hinted that it was also doing deals with Iran and China. What the Nigerian government is doing is anybody's guess, but it is not unfair to suspect that they are getting all the money they can get as quickly as possible and that very little of it will actually benefit the Nigerian people. Who winds up with Nigeria's oil may be decided by bloodshed in many countries. -- MCR]

Venezuela Oil Company to Sell Citgo Assets

Associated Press
02.01.2005, 05:20 PM
http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/...ap1797688.html

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

Venezuela's state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela is preparing to sell its Citgo refining operations in the United States within two years, an oil ministry official said Tuesday.

"PDVSA won't get rid of these assets soon. It will take two years to get the sale process on track," said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced Tuesday that his government plans to sell eight Citgo-owned refineries in U.S. territory. It was not immediately clear which Citgo refineries Chavez was referring to.

Chavez was in Argentina on a one-day visit, fresh from attending the World Social Forum in Brazil where he blasted U.S. free trade initiatives in the Americas.

Venezuela's oil ministry has confirmed that Felix Rodriguez will replace Luis Marin as Citgo's president.

Chavez, a self-proclaimed "revolutionary" opposed to Washington's foreign policy, is taking the initiative to enhance business relations with China and Iran among other countries to reduce Venezuela's dependence on the United States.

Venezuela is the world's fifth largest oil exporter, a top crude supplier to the United States and a founding member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Venezuela in Talks to Buy Shell Operations

Associated Press
02.01.2005, 06:30 PM
http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/...ap1797896.html

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

Venezuela's state-run oil company is in talks to buy the Argentine operations of Royal Dutch/Shell, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Tuesday.

Chavez, speaking with reporters during a visit to Buenos Aires, described the negotiations between Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., or PDVSA, and Shell as "advanced," calling them part of PDVSA's interest in expanding its Latin American operations.

Shell officials in Argentina refused to comment.

Royal Dutch/Shell currently operates about 600 gas stations in Argentina. Any potential deal would include those assets, along with the company's refining, lubricant and transportation operations, Chavez said.

Facing slagging profits in the region, Shell has recently sold off some of its Latin American operations, including its fuels marketing businesses in Peru and Venezuela.

Analysts have said heavy taxes on oil and fuel have cut into the company's profit margins in Argentina.

However, government price controls could complicate any potential sale.

Shell and other refiners have racked up large debts with oil producers operating in Argentina because of a pact aimed at keeping domestic fuel prices low.

Will Chavez's Oil Still Flow?

By Tim Padgett, TIME Magazine
Sunday, Jan. 30, 2005
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...022611,00.html

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

Whether or not Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is the next Fidel Castro, the leftist firebrand has mastered the Cuban's art of pushing the U.S.'s buttons--including the ones on our gas pumps. Venezuela is the U.S.'s fourth-largest oil supplier (15% of U.S. imports), a nearby and reliable source that few in Washington want to alienate. But the visit to Caracas last week by Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong was the latest reminder that Chavez, a sharp critic of U.S. foreign policy, wants to cut Venezuela's dependence on the U.S. market and start exporting to his oil-thirsty ideological ally, China. Talks are under way to build pipelines to pump Venezuelan crude to Pacific ports in Colombia and Panama for that very purpose.

Analysts question whether Chavez can profitably ship oil all the way to Asia, and Venezuelan officials insist that U.S. supplies will remain steady even if he does. But given Chavez's anti-Bush fervor--and the leverage that sky-high oil prices afford him--Washington is nonetheless starting to worry that the flow of Venezuelan oil might shrink significantly by the end of this decade. Indiana Senator Richard Lugar has asked the Government Accountability Office to study what "contingencies are in place to mitigate the effects" of a sharp Venezuelan shortfall, "as this could have serious consequences for our nation's security." Other Senators are urging the Bush Administration to mend fences with the democratically elected Chavez, whom it accuses of trying to destabilize Latin America, as Castro once was. But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, at her confirmation hearings, showed no signs of softening on Chavez, calling him a "negative force" in the hemisphere. Chavez, who claims that Bush backed a failed 2002 coup attempt against him (the Administration denies it), called Rice "an illiterate" who "seems to dream about me." Washington's bigger fear is that U.S. consumers may someday see Chavez in their nightmares.

Venezuela accessing China market via Iran

Tuesday, February 01, 2005
©2005 IranMania.com
http://www.iranmania.com/News/Articl...Code=29287&New

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

LONDON, Feb 1 (IranMania) - Venezuela has enrolled Iran to help it accelerate a strategy to steer its oil exports to China and away from its traditional market of the US, Financial Times said.

A team of traders from Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the state-owned oil company, is to be trained in London by Iranian advisers on how best to place oil in Asian markets, according to industry sources.

The action is part of efforts by Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, to strengthen ties with China at the expense of the US, with whom relations are strained again after two-years of calm.

Iran is Venezuela's closest ally in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which at the weekend agreed to keep output quotas unchanged in the short term to support oil prices.

Iran is also, as US vice-president Dick Cheney said recently, 'right at the top of the list of potential trouble spots' identified by the Bush administration. Venezuela's asking for help from Iran may be read as provocative by some in Washington.

President Hugo Chavez on Saturday signed accords with Zeng Qinghong, China's vice president, to allow the China National Petroleum Corporation to develop oil and gas reserves in Venezuela. "China has come here as a sister nation to extend a friendly hand to the neediest in Latin America," Chavez said.

In recent weeks Venezuela has begun selling crude and fuel oil to China, in some cases, according to people familiar with the deals, at a discount price to offset shipping costs and render the trade feasible.

Nigeria/Sao Tome Ink Oil Deal with U.S. Cos

Tue Feb 1, 2005 12:27 PM ET
By Tom Ashby, Reuters
http://www.boston.com/news/world/afr...iasao_tome_ink
_oil_deal_with_us_cos/

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria and Sao Tome signed a landmark oil exploration contract with a U.S.-dominated consortium on Tuesday, marking Sao Tome's first steps into the world of big oil, authorities said on Tuesday.

Jay Pryor, managing director of lead partner ChevronTexaco's local unit, said the contract with the two African nations was made under a "new standard of accountability," allowing for public disclosure of payments.

"We are very pleased to have reached this milestone," Pryor said in a statement.

ChevronTexaco has 51 percent of the equity, while ExxonMobil has 40 percent and Dangote Energy Equity Resources, a small Nigerian/Norwegian company, holds 9 percent.

The production sharing contract for the previously disputed offshore area was made possible by the creation of a Joint Development Zone in 2000, under which revenues are shared by Nigeria with 60 percent and Sao Tome with 40.

The licensing process began in October 2003 with a bid round in which the consortium offered a $123 million signature bonus, but it has taken until now to sign the first contract due to lengthy negotiations over contract details.

The signature bonus is now due for release.

Industry sources said the contract provided for an eight year exploration period, after which the consortium must relinquish half the area, followed by a 20-year renewable production period.

COUPS, CORRUPTION
A tiny and impoverished nation of 170,000 people, Sao Tome has been rocked by coup attempts and accusations of corruption as it prepares to become the latest African petro-state.

It is located in the center of the Gulf of Guinea, where several major oil discoveries in deep water over the last 10 years have turned it into one of the world's exploration hotspots. The United States hopes to import a quarter of its oil from the Gulf of Guinea region in a decade, from 14 percent now.

Sao Tome President Fradique de Menezes survived a military coup in 2003 by giving the military rights to oversee oil deals amid accusations of corruption. In May last year, four ministers were reshuffled in a political row over shady oil deals.

Nigeria, ranked the third most corrupt nation in the world by watchdog Transparency International, has launched a high-profile campaign to crack down on graft. A keenly awaited audit of Nigerian oil revenues is months overdue.

The world's eighth largest oil exporter, Nigeria loses about five percent of its output to theft by well-connected criminal syndicates.

Scandal hit the Joint Development Authority in June last year when Sao Tome sacked two senior members of the authority for unspecified reasons and nominated one of its citizens to replace a Nigerian at the head of the body. The authority released a statement in the same month saying bribery of licensing officials would not be tolerated.