Venezuela's Chavez blames Bush for high oil price
Reuters, 05.07.04, 3:00 PM ET
By Matthew Robinson
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday blamed the "imperialist" policies of U.S. President George W. Bush and the U.S.-led war in Iraq for sending crude oil prices to 13-1/2-year highs.
"Oil prices have risen to nearly $40 a barrel because of what is happening in Iraq and in the Middle East. George W. Bush is to blame...not only in the Middle East, but in a fair part of the world because of his imperialist policies," Chavez said at a televised public event.
U.S. crude futures on Friday shot to $40 a barrel for the first time since shortly after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in October 1990 on concerns over the security of oil installations in the Middle East and tight U.S. gasoline supplies.
The oil policies of OPEC nation Venezuela under the Populist Chavez, who has often clashed with Washington since taking office in 1999, are frequently opposed to those of the import-reliant United States.
Oil sales account for around half of Venezuelan government revenues.
The Bush administration is concerned about high gasoline prices during an election year and is calling on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to calm prices by increasing output.
At its last meeting, OPEC agreed to cut formal production quotas beginning April 1 by 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to counter a potentially price depressing seasonal dip in demand in the second quarter.
But Venezuelan officials insist the market is well supplied and say the oil industry of the world's No. 5 crude exporter is fully recovered from a crippling two-month strike last year that temporarily halted operations and drove up oil prices.
"Some say it is Venezuela's fault..., that oil prices are near $40 a barrel. It's not out fault, we have said that prices of around $30 a barrel are fair," Chavez said.
Price-hawk Venezuela has said it would support raising OPEC's official target price range for its basket of crude and products from $22-$28 by an additional $2. OPEC's price basket has been outside this band for most of this year.
Relations between Venezuela and the United States, the top buyer of Venezuelan crude, have been strained by Chavez's increasing ties with anti-U.S. countries such as Cuba and his sharp criticism of the war in Iraq.
The leftist president charges Washington was behind a failed coup bid against him in April 2002, but the Bush administration denies involvement.
Copyright 2004, Reuters News Service
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I realize there's probably too much money to be had, but what are the odds of one of these countries saying "screw you" to the US and shutting off their exports to us? |
