Venezuela, China's Citic Group To Work On Oil, Mining Projects
February 24 2012 - 6:26PM
Dow Jones News
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed a series of accords with
China's Citic Group Friday which included plans for both parties to
work together on building offshore oilfield platforms and develop a
gold mine formerly operated by a Canadian mining company.
The president signed the deals during a meeting with heads of
Citic and other Venezuelan government officials broadcast on state
television, just hours before Chavez left for Cuba where he is
scheduled to undergo further surgery in relation to a tumor he had
removed last year.
Delegations from Citic Group have visited Caracas frequently in
recent years as both countries strengthen economic and political
ties. Chinese state firms have made billions of dollars in loans to
the South American country in exchange for shipments of more than
400,000 barrels of oil a day. The Asian nation operates projects in
Venezuela in sectors ranging from agriculture to housing to
oil.
As part of the latest agreements, Chavez said Citic will
"participate" in Venezuela's Petropiar heavy oil upgrader facility,
which is currently operated as a joint venture between state energy
company Petroleos de Venezuela, or PdVSa, and Chevron Corp. (CVX).
The president, however, didn't specify what the Asian company will
do at the oil venture but said that he would be monitoring progress
on the agreement from Cuba.
Elsewhere, Citic is also set to help Venezuela develop the Las
Cristinas gold mine, Chavez said, adding that it could be "one of
the largest reserves in the world."
The project was formerly operated by Canada's Crystallex
International Corp. (CRYXF) until their contract was terminated by
the Venezuelan government one year ago. The company, which recently
filed for bankruptcy protection, is seeking billions in
compensation from the Venezuelan government through an arbitration
case pending in front of the World Bank's International Centre for
the Settlement of Investment Disputes.
Chavez left for Havana Friday for surgery after announcing
earlier this week that doctors had detected a possibly malignant
lesion in his pelvic area, where a baseball-sized tumor was removed
last year. The ailing 57-year-old socialist leader made the
admission after months of declaring that he was cancer free. He has
never publicly state what kind of cancer he suffered from and has
received most of his medical treatment in secret in Cuba.
Though he has pledged to make a rapid recovery, the president's
announcement has raised questions over his ability to campaign for
the Oct. 7 presidential elections, where he is seeking a third
six-year term.
-Kejal Vyas, Dow Jones Newswires; 58-414-249-6821;
kejal.vyas@dowjones.com
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