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01/15/2006:

"Venezuela proposes 'Bank of the South'"

BUENOS AIRES -- Oil-rich Venezuela, having recently helped Argentina to pay off its debt to the International Monetary Fund, is floating the idea of a new "Bank of the South" that would offer no-strings loans in competition to the U.S.-backed IMF.

The scheme would be the latest in a series of moves in which Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has used his country's oil revenues to expand his influence and leftist philosophy through South America.

Argentina last week repaid $9.6 billion to the IMF -- a 184-nation institution with its headquarters in Washington -- clearing away the staggering debt it incurred with a spectacular default and currency devaluation in 2001 and 2002.

The premature payoff was made possible in part by rising commodities prices and a strong international economy. But a key factor was Venezuela's purchase last year of about $1.5 billion in Argentine bonds, which made Mr. Chavez's government the largest holder of Argentine debt.

The benefit for Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, whose government is tilting sharply to the left, is that it frees his country from conditions that come with IMF loans, ranging from interest-rate policy to limits on government spending.
washingtontimes.com

Venezuela: The New Saudi Arabia
CORDOBA, Argentina--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 11, 2006--Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Venezuela's state-owned petroleum company, PDVSA, has announced plans to reach crude oil production levels of 5.8 million barrels per day by 2012 and 7.5 million barrels per day by 2020. PDVSA also wants to invest $3 billion in expanding its refining capacity. It will form strategic alliances with numerous countries in order to use refineries located in the Caribbean and South America. PDVSA will invest $56 billion between 2005 and 2012 to accomplish its goals. Venezuela will pay 85% of this investment with its own resources, and the remaining 15% will come from private entities. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has divided this expansion project into two stages. The first phase will occur between 2005 and 2012, and the second phase between 2012 and 2030.

PDVSA is hoping to turn Venezuela into the country with the most crude oil reserves in the world, surpassing even Saudi Arabia. Over the last few years, the Venezuelan petroleum industry has been trying to increase its crude oil production since it is estimated that Venezuela's crude oil reserves could be greater than 77 billion barrels.