Posted on 09/13/2004 8:13:55 PM PDT by hedgetrimmer
Beijing. (Interfax-China) - Venezuela is to overcome technological and legal barriers to pave the way for expanding its crude oil exports to China across the Pacific Ocean, according to the South American nation's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jesus Arnoldo Perez. The official made such remarks during a visit to Beijing, on September 6.
According to Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television, in July this year a deal was inked between Venezuela and its neighbor Columbia, in which the two sides agreed to construct a pipeline linking oilfields in Venezuela with the Pacific coastal port in Columbia.
The pipeline is designed to help Venezuela to bypass the Panama Canal, and find a new, more direct route to deliver oil to China across the Pacific Ocean. Shortening the oil delivering route between Venezuela and China is expected to save both time and money for the two countries.
Perez noted, during his time in Beijing that the pipeline "is [being] specially built for China". He also promised to guarantee Venezuela's oil supply to China.
Owing to the long route between the two nations, Venezuela, a heavyweight in OPEC and the largest oil exporter in South America, shipped a total of just 61,061 tons of oil to China in the first seven months of this year. During this period, China imported an overall 70.60 mln tons of crude oil to fuel its domestic development, mainly from Saudi Arabia, Amen and Angola.
Perez also met Chen Geng, head of China National Petroleum Corporation, the nation's largest oil producer. Both men expressed their hopes to cooperate in the oil sector in the future. However, no deals or results were revealed at the conclusion of their talks.
Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's President, is scheduled to visit China at the beginning of next year, when, Phoenix Television predicts, a number of deals between the two nations will be reached.
You might be interested in this.
Of the 21 largest known/producing oil fields on the planet; 4 are in the Americas (Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, and Alaska), 3 are in former Soviet Union Republics, and 14 are in the Middle East (6 in Saudi Arabia, 4 in Iran, 2 in Iraq, 1 in Kuwait, and 1 in Abu Dhabi). In 1996, the US was still the world’s largest oil producer ... but not anymore. The growth of our consumption has far outstripped our production and requires more and more of the world’s oil production and reserves, but the character of the oil’s origins to quench that thirst changes.
In 2004, the three largest oil suppliers (to the US market) are Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela -- in that order. Saudi Arabia was 4th and Nigeria and Iraq a distant 5th and 6th respectively.
I noted earlier that the US has one of the 21 largest known/producing oil fields on the planet. That is Prudhoe Bay in Alaska and it is ranked 21st. Consider that while the US is the now world’s largest oil importer, we sell up to 7% of our Alaskan oil to our good friends in Japan, the Koreas, and China. They are, after all, our good friends -- "isn’t that special!"
--Fred Cederholm
Color me unsurprised!
Thanks.
PING
One word. "Fungible". It doesn't matter who Venezuela sells to as long as he sells to someone.
I would recommend that the Colombian Government shut down Chavez' pipeline for a couple of weeks every time the FARC blows up any other pipeline in the country. Just let Chavez know that Chavez doesn't pump oil unless everyone pumps oil.
This would be good news if it meant Chavez was planning to increase his overall production, but so far he can't even make his OPEC quota, so disfunctional is his administration.
Mexico has announced they will increase overall production to start selling into the Chinese market. If they can do it, that too is good news, since it is primarily Chinese demand that is driving up prices. Actually, announcing that they will expand production to sell to China is a bit of a con. Again, oil being fungible, selling to anyone is the same as selling to everyone, in terms of market price. But for some reason Mexico finds it politically preferable to use China as an excuse for expanding production, so as to avoid the implication that such an increase helps the US no matter who they sell to.
read when more awake
Thanks for the ping.
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