Chavez: Venezuela Does
Not Plan To Halt U.S.
Oil Exports
Venezuela has no plans
to halt oil exports to
the United States as
long as the U.S. does
not invade Venezuela,
the nation's president,
Hugo Chavez, said in his
weekly broadcast Alo
Presidente.
"If it assaults us, and
tries to harm us as it
has previously, then we
will have to take the
decision not to send
them even one drop of
oil," Chavez said.
In the same show last
week, Chavez said the
nation was "ready" to
stop shipments to the
U.S. in response to
judicial action by U.S.
oil company Exxon Mobil
to freeze 12 billion
U.S. dollars of assets
belonging to state-run
oil company Petroleos
Venezuela in January.
The U.S. oil company is
seeking compensation for
its forced exit from the
Orinoco Petroliferous
Strip, as a result of
the Venezuelan
government's May 2007
decision to raise its
stake in the nation's
oil operations to 85
percent from around 45
percent earlier.
Eleven of the 13 foreign
companies operating in
Venezuela accepted the
terms, but Exxon Mobil
and Conoco Phillips, who
controlled 51 percent of
their operations prior
to May 2007, refused to
comply.
The Orinoco
Petroliferous Strip has
235 billion barrels of
petrol in deposits,
which Chavez estimated
as equivalent to 200
years' worth of oil. It
produces around 600,000
barrels a day.
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