Nov 2006 Financial News

Venezuela, Belize sign Petrocaribe deal

Nov 29, 2006

CARACAS - Venezuela has signed an agreement to sell 4,000 barrels of fuel a day to Belize, the state oil company has said.

The shipments will include diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, lubricants and other oil products, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, said in a statement last week.

The agreement is part of the Petrocaribe oil deal that Venezuela has signed with 14 Caribbean countries under President Hugo Chavez, who has sought to create alternatives to US-backed trade deals in the region.

Under Petrocaribe, countries only pay part of their oil bill up front and finance the rest over 25 years at low interest. Venezuela can also provide tanks, docking facilities and other infrastructure, and has accepted goods such as rice or bananas as partial payment.

Venezuela is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and has sought new markets to reduce its reliance on the United States, its biggest customer.

PDVSA also announced last week that it had signed a deal with Brazilian industrial conglomerate Andrade Gutierrez to build oil tankers in Venezuela.

The joint venture will be the first to manufacture tankers and offshore oil platforms in the South American country, the company said in a statement.

The deal is considered the first step in building a new fleet to transport more oil to China and other Asian countries. Offshore platforms will also be useful as Venezuela's seek to tap offshore energy deposits, PDVSA said.

The oil company plans to increase its total fleet to 42 ships by 2012, the statement said.

The Trinidad Express
Wednesday, November 29, 2006.
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_business_mag?id=161058552