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VENEZUELA-DIPLOMACY-CHINA-OIL
Maduro says oil finance commitments won from China
CARACAS, Sept 16, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
said Saturday he had new commitments from Beijing on funding for the oil
industry on which crisis-hit Caracas relies.
Oil output is the main generator of Venezuela’s income but has fallen to
its lowest level in three decades, with the South American country’s state-
led economy in free-fall.
Analysts blame years of neglect during which state oil firm PDVSA’s
infrastructure became rundown and exploration was curbed, while oil revenues
were used to plug the fiscal deficit.
Now, however, “there are financing commitments to increase oil production,
gold production as well as investment in more than 500 development projects
within Venezuela,” Maduro told Venezuelan state television VTV from China,
his country’s main creditor.
Maduro began a visit on Friday seeking Beijing’s help for the collapsed
economy.
Maduro was received by Chinese President Xi Jinping and attended meetings
at the China Development Bank and the China National Petroleum Corporation.
Venezuela — which has received more than $50 billion in credit from
Beijing — still owes about $20 billion dollars and has been repaying the
debt with oil shipments. Conditions on that credit were made more flexible in
2016.
Maduro did not say if the debt was discussed, or whether China has offered
a new loan of $5 billion.
Venezuelan consultancy Ecoanalitica had said Maduro may return home with a
fresh $5 billion loan and a six-month extension to the grace period to
service its debt.
Venezuela and its state oil company PDVSA were declared in partial default
in 2017 for the non-payment of bond debts.
On Friday the president signed memorandums of understanding on energy and
mining deals, which he said were worth several billion dollars.
MORE/HR/0918
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VENEZUELA-DIPLOMACY-CHINA-OIL 2 LAST CARACAS
Venezuela’s crude oil production — which accounts for 96 percent of
income — fell in August to 1.4 million barrels per day, the lowest level in
three decades except for a period between 2002 and 2003, according to the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Maduro’s government has massively devalued the national currency as part
of a raft of measures intended to halt the economy’s collapse and
hyperinflation which the International Monetary Fund projects will reach
1,000,000 percent by the end of the year.
More than 1.6 million Venezuelans — facing shortages of food and medicine
at home — have left their country since 2015, mostly for neighboring Latin
American countries.
In Caracas on Saturday, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said her government
planned to “denounce before the United Nations” remarks made by Organization
of American States chief Luis Almagro.
On Friday Almagro cited the “suffering” of Venezuelans and said “a
military intervention” to overthrow the Maduro regime should not be ruled
out.
Maduro has angrily blamed the US for many of his problems.
BSS/AFP/HR/0920