Venezuela and China Boost Ties With Refinery Deal
Brian Ellsworth reports for Reuters from Caracas:
Venezuela and China have agreed to build a refinery in China to process Venezuelan oil, advancing leftist President Hugo Chavez’s push to boost ties between the OPEC nation and one of the world’s fastest-growing energy consumers.
Chavez, a self-styled revolutionary and harsh critic of Washington, has increased energy and commercial ties with China to reduce Venezuela’s traditional reliance on energy markets in the United States.
In a ceremony late on Friday, Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA and the largest Chinese oil and gas company PetroChina (0857.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) agreed to build a 400,000 barrel per day refinery in China’s Guandong province.
