Posted on 11/05/2006 8:07:02 AM PST by thackney
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez threatened Saturday to halt oil exports to the United States and said foes of his leftist government are not welcome within the military or the state-run oil company.
Also on Saturday, tens of thousands of supporters of Manuel Rosales, Chávez's main challenger in Dec. 3 presidential elections, staged a 16-mile march through the capital Caracas.
More than 1,000 police were deployed along the route to prevent clashes between Rosales supporters and "Chávistas" who gathered on street corners as the marchers passed.
The opposition has accused Chávez's administration of coercion after Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez was caught on videotape threatening to fire employees of the state-run oil company who oppose Chávez.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
Also see:
http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/11/04/ap3145936.html
Also on Saturday, tens of thousands of supporters of Manuel Rosales, Chavez's main challenger in Dec. 3 presidential elections, staged a 16-mile march through the capital Caracas. More than 1,000 police were deployed along the route to prevent clashes between Rosales supporters and "Chavistas" who gathered on street corners shouting "Viva Chavez!" and "Oh, No! Chavez Won't Go!" as the marchers passed.
The opposition has accused Chavez's administration of political coercion after Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez was caught on videotape threatening to fire employees of state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, who oppose Chavez.
"If they try to destabilize PDVSA, if the empire and its lackeys in Venezuela attempt another coup, ignore the outcome of the elections or cause election or oil-related upheaval, we won't send another drop of oil to the United States," Chavez said in a speech to PDVSA workers in the coastal city of Puerto La Cruz, 150 miles east of Caracas.
We get 14% of our oil imports from Venezuela however, that represents 80% of their exports. Who is hurt the most?
Simple--He stops oil exports to the US, we impose a naval blockade on Venezuela.
No skin off of my @ss. I have not bought any of his commie crap for over a year.
Yup. I think we can find other places to make up the difference.
The women and children?
Who else would wand his sour crude?
Chavez is full of it. Oil is a commodity sold on the world market. It doesn’t matter if the oil from Venezuela physically goes to us or country X.
Serious question: So what if he refuses to sell to the US? There is a world supply of oil - OPEC is cutting production due to decreases demand - and we can buy elsewhere from the world supply. If he cuts production, OPEC can make up the difference. If not, we buy from somewhere out of the world supply. I read somewhere that the US actually exports some oil, I think to Japan. Am I wrong?
What a dope.
We're to ones who refine his nasty sludge and turn it into usable product.
OK hugo, who will you get to refine it?
A@@clown.
You're not wrong. The most Chavez could do is increase the price of oil as it has to be shipped to a different market increasing the shipping costs.
Other oil would then come to us, also with increased shipping costs.
It doesn't benefit him at all, and it hurts the entire world, but it's negligible. A few cents per barrel more, and the price of crude swings by more than that on a daily basis right now.
Go right on ahead and do it Sluggo.
"The president of Tulsa based Arkansas Valley, a wholesale distributor which delivers Citgo gas to about 30 stations in Oklahoma and Missouri, said sales fell 10 percent to 15 percent after Chavez's United Nations speech in which he referred to Bush as “the devil.”"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1732500/posts
There is the 14%. It is not just Oklahoma and Missouri. Americans are not buying Citgo. We ARE crippling him. Could not happen to a more deserving idiot. Too bad about the independent distributors, and Citgo employees.
You haven't, but other people have. If that supply is cut off, it will have to be replaced with another source.
I'm not sure of the exact numbers, but I suspect that cutting off imports of Venezuelan oil would have an effect similar to the disruption of Gulf oil production and refining caused by Katrina and Rita last year.
Last year, Venezeula exported 2.2 million barrels of oil per day.
That works out to $132 million per day or $5.5 million per hour.
Only an idiot would jeopardize a cash-flow stream like that.
Chavez is watching our election very closely! I hope America does NOT give him something to gloat on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWAJVH8pTWI
If he was smart, he would be watching his back. This election is going to push him over the edge. He can console himself with the whiles of the barren "Peace Mom".
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