Venezuela Ready to Defend International Oil PricesVenezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday, December 27, he is ready, if necessary, to visit once again every oil exporting country in order to defend international oil prices.He made the remarks in the city of Maracaibo, some 500 km west of the capital. "What does the Developed World want? That we keep on giving oil away, being this resource our main wealth source and that Venezuela will still rely upon for years to come," he said. He considered that the attitude of developed countries "is similar to a situation in which we told the Developed World to lower the prices of wheat, planes, machinery and everything we buy from it out of need." Oil prices fell below to US$21.64 a barrel last Thursday, the lowest level since April 11. Chavez also announced the appointment of Alvaro Silva Calderon as new Minister of Energy and Mines, replacing Ali Rodriguez, who will become secretary general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on January 1,2001. There is an irregularity in international oil prices, for a 159- liter barrel of mineral water is worth seven times more than a barrel of oil, he said. The president said that while developed countries increase interest rates of developing countries' foreign debt at will, poor countries also have the right to defend their interests. Venezuela will maintain its campaign to strengthen OPEC and " now even more with Alvaro Silva as Minister of Energy and Mining, and Ali Rodriguez as OPEC's Secretary General," he said. However, he also assured that he would not allow oil prices to return to 1998 levels of over 30 U.S. dollars a barrel. |
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