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Venezuela and China boost ties with refinery deal

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-05-11 11:03

Venezuela and China have agreed to build a refinery in China to process Venezuelan oil, advancing President Hugo Chavez's push to boost ties between the OPEC nation and one of the world's fastest-growing economies.

In a ceremony late on Friday, Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA and the largest Chinese oil and gas company PetroChina agreed to build a 400,000 barrel per day refinery in South China's Guangdong Province.

The joint-venture refinery, Venezuela's first such investment in China, will advance Chavez's goal of shipping to China 1 million barrels per day of oil by around 2011, or 13 percent of current Chinese oil demand.

Venezuela ships nearly 300,000 barrels per day of oil and fuel to China, of which around 80,000 barrels are crude oil.

PetroChina and PDVSA will supply the Guangdong refinery with oil produced from the Junin 4 block of the vast Orinoco heavy crude belt, which holds some of the largest oil reserves outside the Middle East.

China this year lent $4 billion to Venezuela, which the South American country will repay in fuel, to create an investment fund for development projects such as improvement of rural roads and expansion of fishing.

The two countries also agreed on Friday to advance agricultural cooperation.