Venezuela to boost crude oil output to repay 20 billion Chinese loans

Beijing time August 6 morning news, according to foreign media reports, South America's largest oil producer Venezuela to China Daily delivery of 200,000 barrels of crude oil, to repay China's 20 billion U.S. dollar debt, so as to finance its electricity, agriculture and technology projects.　　Rafael Ramirez, Venezuela's oil minister, said in an interview yesterday that, as a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Venezuela plans to send 1 million barrels of crude oil to China every day by 2012 and sell the oil at market prices to repay 10-year loans.　　"We are building diversity in the export oil market, and our international policy is moving in that direction," said Ramirez, the president of Venezuela's National oil Company (Petroleos de Venezuela SA), "We will not lower the price of oil in any international agreement." Venezuela is working to open up Asian markets, where oil is desperately needed to meet the demand for rapid economic growth.　　Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's president, is seeking funding to reform the country's economic structure in order to raise the country's poor employment rate and solve the power shortage problem. In April this year, China agreed to provide Venezuela with a 20 billion dollar loan in exchange for a future supply of oil to China. This year Venezuela's national oil Company (PDVSA) and CNPC also signed a 16.3 billion-dollar agreement to form a joint venture. The joint venture plans to deliver 1 million barrels of crude oil to Asian refineries every day.