Venezuela's Chavez says oil could reach $300

Reuters ^ | Jul 14, 2008 | Reuters

[thackney]

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday oil prices could hit $300 per barrel if U.S. oil company Exxon Mobil again freezes Venezuelan assets in a dispute over a nationalized oil project.

Exxon won court orders freezing $12 billion in assets held by Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA after the OPEC nation took over a multi-billion dollar oil project, heightening tensions with the United States and helping to raise oil prices.

A London court later overturned Exxon's temporary asset freeze, but Chavez said the company could seek further action against Venezuela.

"If they freeze us there will be no more oil for the United States, and the price will go to $300," Chavez said during a televised meeting with Caribbean and Central American leaders as part of an energy cooperation scheme called Petrocaribe.

Chavez also said oil prices were being influenced by a "speculative bubble"...

[thackney]

$200 just doesn't have the emotional impact it used to have. The threats have to seem greater.

[Slapshot68]

Best way to get the price you want in OPEC is to threaten it will reach that price...and the speculators, like lemmings, price it up.

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

Hugo is just playing the ole MSM scare game to drive up oil prices and fuel inflation.

The only problem is, is that the MSM will play along.

[KansasGirl]

Drill here, Drill now!

[silverleaf]

I say oil “could” go to $1,000.

You can quote me on that.

[Long Island Pete]

This just in. Oil prices will reach $1,000 a barrel in record time.

[econjack]

"If [Exxon] freeze[s] us there will be no more oil for the United States, and the price will go to $300,"

Let me get this straight: You want to take away a customer who represents 25% of world demand and, by doing that, the world price will double...have I got that right? So shifting the world demand for oil 25% towards the origin will raise the price by a factor of two. Wow! Hat's off to you, Chavez. Your logic just rendered 200 years of economic principles obsolete. Good luck with that, you Bozo.

[ripley]

“venezuela’s chavez says oil could reach $300.”

the higher the prospective price of oil, the more resistance to drilling in the u.s. by the liberal congress.(could it be that they want the u.s. to fall on its face economically? looking for the dictionary to find the proper spelling for treachery.)

imho

[silverleaf]

Are you quoting unnamed sources? :-)

[Obadiah]

I say, let is go to $500 a barrel. Let’s grind all the international markets to a screeching halt! Then, completely restrict all exports of U.S. food and grain supplies. Let’s see how Chavez,Ahmanutjob, and the House of Saud like their high oil prices now.

[Havok]

Bush’s fault.

[mouse1]

Flood Congress With Your Calls Tomorrow July 15th
Let them know how you feel
Gov Palin is pleading with us to let Alaska do its part (yes even anwar)

Tell your friends family neighbors and coworkers
Contact Congress Tuesday July 15th
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
DRILL HERE - DRILL NOW!!!!

[ripley]

“flood congress with your calls tomorrow, july 15th...”

will do.

[RichardW]

As someone pointed out on another thread yesterday, this is craziness. We have the only refinery that can refine that kind of oil. It is worthless outside the U.S. market. He would just be cutting off his own revenue. What an idiot!

[thackney]

We have the only refinery that can refine that kind of oil.

Untrue. Already most of Venezuela's oil is refined outside of the US.

[RichardW]

You sure about that? Where, exactly?

[thackney]

Very sure.

The US only import 43% of the oil Venezuela produces.

1.15 MMBPD out of 2.67 MMBPD in 2007.

Total U.S. Crude Oil Imports From Venezuela
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/mcrimusve2a.htm

International Petroleum Production Tables
All Countries, Most Recent Annual Estimates, 1980-2007
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/RecentTotalOilSupplyBarrelsperDay.xls

All of Venezuela crude oil is not heavy sour sludge. They didn’t become a major oil producer in the 1930 by only having undesireable oil. Most of the recent large oil reserves discovered in the last decade have been heavy sour stuff in the Orinoco Belt but accounts for little of their current production.

Also, there are plenty of other countries producing heavy sour oil, there is plenty of market for it.

World Crude Oil Qualities
http://www.meglobaloil.com/MARPOL.pdf

[TexasRepublic]

Can we invade them now?

[RichardW]

Then I was misinformed. I discussed this with a long time former Citco engineer who confirmed what I believed was fact.

[thackney]

PdVSA, which owns Citgo, owns significant refining capabilities outside the US including within Venezuela.

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