Oil Venezuela

Unocal expects to receive more than $500 million from the sale of half its Chicago-area oil refinery to Venezuela's national oil company, the U.S. oil firm said Friday. Los Angeles-based Unocal said it has tentatively agreed to form a joint venture that, as previously reported, would operate a 147,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lemont, Ill. The venture would be owned 50-50 by Unocal and Petroleos de Venezuela, or Petroven.

Two years ago, New Hampshire refused to accept heating oil from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the pro-Castro U.S. critic who once called President Bush "the devil." But with fuel prices rising, well, free oil is free oil. With the state's blessing, New Hampshire residents will be receiving some of the fuel this winter. New Hampshire becomes the last state in the Northeast to embrace the offer.

A dramatic reappraisal of the amount of oil in Venezuela, securely fixing the Latin American nation in the same league as Saudi Arabia, has caught the attention of U.S. oil experts and stands to enliven the debate over domestic energy security. The new estimates were recently corroborated by experts from the U.S. Interior Department's Geological Survey after the Venezuelans' initial reports were greeted with some skepticism.

President Bush and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva set aside differences Friday and announced a partnership to promote the use of alternative energy to reduce the Western Hemisphere's dependence on fossil fuels. Lula, whose left-of-center government has been critical of Bush on Iraq and the environment, suggested that the two countries can work pragmatically on issues of common interest even if they have disagreements in other areas. "After all, we ...

Benton Oil & Gas Co., based in Oxnard, has doubled its daily crude output with the start of production by the company's partner in eastern Venezuela. Benton will receive half of the 2,100 barrels a day now being taken from four wells in the Uracoa field, bringing the company's total daily production to about 2,200 barrels, according to Gregory S. Grabar, manager of corporate development. Benton and its partner, Vinccier C. A.

President Hugo Chavez said Sunday the state-owned oil monopoly will be restructured from top to bottom. He started by firing the company's president. Chavez, a former coup leader popular with the country's poor, named Guaicaipuro Lameda Montero, a general and engineer who was heading the government budget office, as the new chief of Petroleos de Venezuela.

Mexico, Venezuela to Boost Oil Aid: The two countries agreed to broaden an accord that offers oil on favorable terms to cash-strapped Central American and Caribbean nations. They increased the amount of oil available under the San Jose Pact to 160,000 barrels per day from 130,000.

It feels like a time warp: The two-tone brown 1975 Ford LTD V-8 glides into the gas station and the attendant fills the tank--18 gallons for about $7.50. Cheap gasoline is one of the payoffs from this year's crude-oil price boom for the Western Hemisphere's largest oil-exporting nation. While the rest of the world groans at the pump, soaring crude oil revenue helps subsidize gas prices at home; a gallon of regular costs 35 cents.

Venezuelan Energy Minister Celestino Armas said Wednesday that all 13 OPEC members may meet Sunday in Vienna in response to the call from Saudi Arabia for an urgent meeting to discuss possible oil production increases. "Possibly what we're going to have is a consultative meeting of the 13 members" of the cartel, Armas told reporters. He said the meeting would be held Sunday in Vienna, but he would not elaborate.

Higher wages, more public spending and future sales of dollars are among the steps a government commission recommended to foster economic growth and reduce Venezuela's dependence on oil, according to a report Wednesday. The Commission for the Reform of the State presented its suggestions for long-term economic planning in a report summarized in the daily newspaper El Universal.

Venezuela is preparing to convert four heavy crude-oil projects valued at about $33 billion to state-majority joint ventures, another step in President Hugo Chavez's effort to assert control of the oil industry and boost government revenue. Venezuela's legislature today will issue a report that is expected to raise royalty rates to 30% from 16.6% on the four projects, which turn tar-like Orinoco crude into 600,000 barrels a day of conventional oil.

President Hugo Chavez said Sunday the state-owned oil monopoly will be restructured from top to bottom. He started by firing the company's president. Chavez, a former coup leader popular with the country's poor, named Guaicaipuro Lameda Montero, a general and engineer who was heading the government budget office, as the new chief of Petroleos de Venezuela.

It feels like a time warp: The two-tone brown 1975 Ford LTD V-8 glides into the gas station and the attendant fills the tank--18 gallons for about $7.50. Cheap gasoline is one of the payoffs from this year's crude-oil price boom for the Western Hemisphere's largest oil-exporting nation. While the rest of the world groans at the pump, soaring crude oil revenue helps subsidize gas prices at home; a gallon of regular costs 35 cents.

Benton Oil & Gas Co., based in Oxnard, has doubled its daily crude output with the start of production by the company's partner in eastern Venezuela. Benton will receive half of the 2,100 barrels a day now being taken from four wells in the Uracoa field, bringing the company's total daily production to about 2,200 barrels, according to Gregory S. Grabar, manager of corporate development. Benton and its partner, Vinccier C. A.

Mexico, Venezuela to Boost Oil Aid: The two countries agreed to broaden an accord that offers oil on favorable terms to cash-strapped Central American and Caribbean nations. They increased the amount of oil available under the San Jose Pact to 160,000 barrels per day from 130,000.

Venezuelan Energy Minister Celestino Armas said Wednesday that all 13 OPEC members may meet Sunday in Vienna in response to the call from Saudi Arabia for an urgent meeting to discuss possible oil production increases. "Possibly what we're going to have is a consultative meeting of the 13 members" of the cartel, Armas told reporters. He said the meeting would be held Sunday in Vienna, but he would not elaborate.

Venezuela is preparing to convert four heavy crude-oil projects valued at about $33 billion to state-majority joint ventures, another step in President Hugo Chavez's effort to assert control of the oil industry and boost government revenue. Venezuela's legislature today will issue a report that is expected to raise royalty rates to 30% from 16.6% on the four projects, which turn tar-like Orinoco crude into 600,000 barrels a day of conventional oil.

Two years ago, New Hampshire refused to accept heating oil from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the pro-Castro U.S. critic who once called President Bush "the devil." But with fuel prices rising, well, free oil is free oil. With the state's blessing, New Hampshire residents will be receiving some of the fuel this winter. New Hampshire becomes the last state in the Northeast to embrace the offer.

Unocal expects to receive more than $500 million from the sale of half its Chicago-area oil refinery to Venezuela's national oil company, the U.S. oil firm said Friday. Los Angeles-based Unocal said it has tentatively agreed to form a joint venture that, as previously reported, would operate a 147,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lemont, Ill. The venture would be owned 50-50 by Unocal and Petroleos de Venezuela, or Petroven.

A dramatic reappraisal of the amount of oil in Venezuela, securely fixing the Latin American nation in the same league as Saudi Arabia, has caught the attention of U.S. oil experts and stands to enliven the debate over domestic energy security. The new estimates were recently corroborated by experts from the U.S. Interior Department's Geological Survey after the Venezuelans' initial reports were greeted with some skepticism.