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Caribbean-Latin America
Chavez threatens to stop oil exports to U.S. if referendum violence
2007-12-01
(Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Friday he will stop oil exports to the United States, close television channels and expel journalists if the December 2 referendum victory he expects is disclaimed and violence starts in this country. "I swear to God and to my mother we are not going to allow it," Chavez said in his campaign speech in favor of "yes" to the constitutional reforms he promotes and pronounced before thousands of his followers meeting at the ample Bolivar avenue in downtown Caracas, Venezuela's capital city.

Chavez repeated his accusation made in past days about "imperialist plans and their creole oligarchy servants," including the U.S.'s Central Intelligence Service, which were planning to create violence against Venezuela with what he called "Pincers Operation."
Posted by:Fred

#9  What is their share of our market now?

From this industry chart, about 12%, slightly lower than last year.
Posted by: lotp   2007-12-01 20:06  

#8  Brazil just discovered oil off shore. It is amazing how when one moron takes over an oil country, an allie finds oil to offset it.
Posted by: Pliny Pheath1680   2007-12-01 13:28  

#7  Sand packing plants?

I believe Venezuela's share of the American market has fallen as their production has fallen. What is their share of our market now?
Posted by: trailing wife   2007-12-01 10:56  

#6  Hey Chavez, stop this!

Heh. This has to put a cold shiver down the spine of every oil tryant around the world. Might be a good time to invest in sand packing plants.
Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611   2007-12-01 10:38  

#5  Meh, go ahead, crackpot. It will hurt you a hell of a lot more than it hurts us. We will be inconvenienced, you will be finished.
Posted by: DarthVader   2007-12-01 07:41  

#4  Oil is fungable
More to the point... oil products are fungeable, heavy oil less so.

'ugo relying on CNE now. No! Is leading by 10 points but turnout is everything. Have heart an d vote if you read this and think of abstaining.

No! Must win by 5-10 points or CNE will massage the results.

Posted by: Thomas Woof   2007-12-01 05:37  

#3  ``Chinese refineries can't process Venezuelan crude, which is heavy in metals and sulfur,'' said Sosa. ``Chinese refineries are still geared toward lighter crudes,'' such as those produced by Nigeria, the sixth-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
via Sudan is what makes my brow crinkle.

Chavez Is A Thief, and that is as far as his thinking goes. Adjust accordingly.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2007-12-01 02:50  

#2  He knows nothing about economics or history. Oil is fungable. If he doesn't sell to the US someone else in the world will. From our point of view there will be no change. From his point of view there will be no change except the Europeans or whomever buys his oil might pay him less. This is more or less what happened when Opec tried to stop exports to certain countries in the 70s.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2007-12-01 01:41  

#1  Bloomberg
So far, Chavez doesn't have the ability to abruptly suspend sales to the U.S. without damaging his own economy. Petroleos de Venezuela would be unable to find buyers for most of the 2.1 million barrels of crude oil it exports today, said Juan Carlos Sosa, president of Grupo Petroleo YV, a Caracas-based energy consultant. Potential customers, including China, don't have sufficient capacity to process the most common Venezuelan crude oil grades, he said.

Heavy Crude

``Chinese refineries can't process Venezuelan crude, which is heavy in metals and sulfur,'' said Sosa. ``Chinese refineries are still geared toward lighter crudes,'' such as those produced by Nigeria, the sixth-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Building the refinery units needed to handle cheaper, stickier, high-sulfur crude oil from Venezuela will take years, Sosa said. In the U.S. some refineries have been upgraded specifically to handle Venezuela's output.

It is interesting and depressing to note that Venezuela, Canada, and Mexico are three of our four top sources of foreign oil.
Posted by: RWV   2007-12-01 00:40  

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