April 12, 2006
Cuba and Venezuela Oil Deal
Via AP we have this story detailing the new deal between Cuba and Venezuela which would revamp and finish a Soviet refinery in Cienfuegos, so Cuba can produce 65,000 barrels of crude daily. Although the article does not specify, I'm assuming Cuba would be refining Venezuelan oil. The cost of this happy venture? It is estimated at about $100 million....and the name? PDV-CUBAPET SA! Isn't that original! The interesting part is that even though Cuba would have 51% stake in the joint venture, its still named Petroleos de Venezuela. Sort of to let you know who has the money.
HAVANA (AP) - Communist Cuba is deepening its relationship with oil-producing Venezuela, forming a joint venture to refurbish an idled Soviet-era oil refinery in central Cuba, the two countries said Tuesday.President Fidel Castro and Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez were at the ceremony Monday night where officials signed the contract between the two nations' state oil companies, the Communist Party newspaper Granma said. Venezuela's oil company issued a similar statement.
Cuba will hold 51 percent of the new joint venture, to be called PDV-CUPET SA, with Venezuela holding the remaining 49 percent.
The agreement fulfills a letter of intent signed last year by Castro's government and the administration of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez under their own vision for a regional trade agreement, the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas. Cuba and Venezuela, so far its only members, hope to expand it to include other countries.
Neither Granma nor the Venezuelan announcement gave financial details. But last year, an executive of the state firm Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, said the project would cost between US$60 million (euro50 million) and $100 million (euro83 million) .
Alejandro Granado, PDVSA's director of refining, said at the time the rehabilitated Soviet-era refinery could open as early as June 2007 and would initially process 65,000 barrels of crude daily.
During a news conference Tuesday to mark the fourth anniversary of a short-lived coup attempt against his older brother, President Chavez, Venezuelan Ambassador Adan Chavez said that the two countries soon will form three other joint ventures: a publishing company and firms to produce music recordings and films.
Adan Chavez said the joint ventures are "agreements for cooperation in our America. No one is trying to take advantage of the other."
The Cuba-Venezuela pact is an alternative to the Washington-backed Free Trade Area for the Americas, which Castro and Hugo Chavez say is a U.S. effort to "annex" Latin America.
The new petroleum joint venture will rehabilitate an idled Soviet-era refinery in the central city of Cienfuegos on Cuba's southern coast to refine, store and distribute crude oil.
The announcement comes as trade rapidly increases between the two political allies.
Cuba-Venezuela trade is projected to reach more than $3.5 billion (euro2.9 billion) this year, Adan Chavez told The Associated Press here during an exclusive interview here last week.
That's up 40 percent from the $2.5 billion (euro2 billion) in trade in 2005, the ambassador told the AP on Friday. He quoted slightly lower trade estimates during the Tuesday news conference.
The bulk of trade comes from the 90,000 barrels of crude petroleum that oil-producing Venezuela sends to the communist-run island daily.
Posted by Ventanita at April 12, 2006 06:39 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.babalublog.com/cgi-bin/mt/hut.cgi/3182
Comments
Huguito is playing with money that belongs to the Venezuelan people and that will never be repaid.
Posted by: Boccaccio ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.babalublog.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at April 12, 2006 08:54 AM
he'll bankrupt venezuela sooner rather than later. communist cuba is a money pit and that refinery is a huge money pit. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up costin 3-5 times more and then it will still be a piece of shit that will need to be leveled when castro dies/falls.
Posted by: conductor at April 12, 2006 10:01 AM
I heard that fifo wants to drill for his own oil in the Florida straits...Perhaps as close as 45 miles from Florida...Put that in your pipe and smoke it... Or as my dad says "chupate esa mientras te mondo la otra"
Posted by: Pete at April 12, 2006 09:12 PM
Cienfuegos, the city that was smashed so hard by Hurricane Dennis last year, and lost its electricity. castro really knows how to pick the best sites, no?
Posted by: A.M. Mora y Leon at April 13, 2006 03:51 AM
Cienfuegos smashed? No, no. You must be confused, Mora. The U.N. says that Cuba is well-prepared to face a hurricane. And if the U.N. says so, it has to be true. :-)
Posted by: Boccaccio at April 13, 2006 01:15 PM
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
