Article

2007-12-01 Caribbean-Latin America

Chavez threatens to stop oil exports to U.S. if referendum violence

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Posted by Fred 2007-12-01 00:00|| || Front Page|| [6 views ] Top

#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|| 2007-12-01 00:40|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2007-12-01 01:41|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2007-12-01 02:50|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2007-12-01 05:37|| Front Page Top

#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">DarthVader 2007-12-01 07:41|| 2007-12-01 07:41|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2007-12-01 10:38|| Front Page Top

#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">trailing wife 2007-12-01 10:56|| 2007-12-01 10:56|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2007-12-01 13:28|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2007-12-01 20:06|| Front Page Top

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