Venezuela donates 1 million barrels of oil to the United States of America

Venezuela Electronic News
Sep. 04, 2005

Speaking on his Sunday radio show, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias has announced that Venezuela will send 1 million barrels of oil to the USA to attend the emergency caused by Hurricane Katrina.

The donation came after a telephone conversation with Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) US subsidiary, Citgo, president Felix Rodriguez.

According to Rodriguez, Citgo has escaped Katrina's ravages and is at the peak of its productive capacity.

Citgo's refinery in Lake Charles (Louisiana) is currently refining 398,000 bpd compared to 230,000 bpd that was its average in Q1.

The Citgo president has told Chavez Frias that Citgo is increasing producion to help supply the US with oil and mitigate in part the current deficit.

Citgo has 4 refineries in the USA producing 140 million barrels of gasoline a year, 55 million barrels of distilled oil and 30 million barrels of jet oil.

On the radio show, Venezuelan Foreign Minister (and former PDVSA president), Ali Rodriguez Araque warns that if a barrel of oil reaches $75, countries with less capacity to confront energy costs will feel the effect. "What happened in New Orleans, together with the costs of war, will affect the growth of the US economy and its energy demands."