Chavez guarantees oil for 200 years for South America

[Judi Lynn]

Sept. 30, 2005, 1:11AM

Chavez guarantees oil for 200 years for South America
Venezuelan leader expands his energy initiative and perhaps his regional influence
By NATALIE OBIKO PEARSON
Associated Press



Associated Press
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, left, confers
with his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva, at a meeting Thursday in Brasilia to
announce joint plans to build an oil refinery in
northeast Brazil.

CARACAS, VENEZUELA - President Hugo Chavez said Thursday he wants to share his country's oil wealth with every nation in South America, in a move that aims to strengthen alliances in the region on the back of surging energy prices.

Chavez, a close ally of Cuba's Fidel Castro, said his country has enough resources to help the region for generations.

"With this mission of energy integration, Venezuela guarantees petroleum and gas for the South American continent for at least 200 years," Chavez said as he arrived for a South American summit in Brazil's capital of Brasilia.

Venezuela's "Petroamerica" initiative is a rival to the U.S.-backed Free Trade Area of the Americas. It integrates previous oil projects Petrosur, Petrocaribe and Petroandina, under which Venezuela agreed to sell fuel to other countries in the region on preferential terms.

Chavez has said the energy alliances will challenge U.S. economic domination in the region and distribute fuel directly to avoid costly intermediaries.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/headline/world/3375894
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Can you believe the Chronicle can't tell the difference between Argentina's President Kirchner and Brazil's Lula da Silva in the photo with Chavez? :silly:



Argentina's Néstor Kirchner, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Brazil's Luis Inacio Lula da Silva



Chavez and Lula da Silva

Néstor Kirchner + Hugo Chavez

[Systematic Chaos]

1. Well, I'm afraid I ain't buying a word of this.

Chavez has sounded like a pretty good guy for the most part, but to me it sounds like he just busted out with the same kind of outrageous claim that the Saudis like to make about their reserves. I know Venezuela has quite a bit of oil, but I don't see how they can have enough to last themselves 200 years. :shrug:

[Ben Ceremos]

2. Perhaps...

they are estimating based on certain rates of consumption? fewer automobiles, alternative energy sources(hydro-electric is big in S.America),development of nuclear energy, continued oil supplies from overseas? I wonder, as well, what Peak Oil estimates are based on? I am not a sceptic of the prognosis regarding fossil fuels, but I do have to wonder why we are "convinced" of the Peak Oil Hypothesis/Prognosis. It wouldn't be the first time analysts had gotten it wrong. :shrug:

[rman]

3. Peak Oil estimates are based on

know quantity of produced oil so far, and official numbers of current proven reserves. Both are roughly 1 trillion barrels which means we're just about at the half-way point, which according to Hubbert means that global production peak is very near.
http://hubbert.mines.edu/
http://www.hubbertpeak.com/

[YapiYapo]

14. Oil peak

Hubbert, a geophysicist, created a mathematical model of petroleum extraction which predicted that the total amount of oil extracted over time would follow a logistic curve. This implies that the predicted rate of oil extraction at any given time would be given by the rate of change of the logistic curve, which follows a bell-shaped pattern now known as the Hubbert curve

South America counsumption is actually quite low, the whole continent use less in a year than the US in a month so they have probably enought supply for the next 200 years as they said.Unless neocons invade them...

[rman]

24. Yet, Venezuela exports t o the US,

amongst others. Venezuelan oil is not used only by South American nations. Also some transnational corporations are extracting Venezuelan oil.

However, i know Chavez to be honest and a realist - it's just that he didn't yet make any statements (that i am aware of) on peak oil and its effect on Venezuelan production.

[Tight_rope]

19. I agree...I'm sure Chavez has started other energy sources...

in his country, which will allow less consumption of oil. To bad the dumbass chimp didn't really earn that degree in economics. I'm sure it was just handed to him like everything else.:spank:

[Say_What]

22. Largest gold reserves for one....

Seem that I read recently that after OIL, mining is the next largest resource in Venezuela.

From the CIA factbook: Venezuela resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds

[liberal N proud]

4. At least we know where we can sell our cars when we run out

of oil here.

[oneighty]

5. If there is oil in the world

"WE" will not run out unless another country grows more powerful than we are at that time and that is an event that PNAC is determined to avoid.

Soon we will own Iraq until somebody takes it from us.

All their oils belong to us.

More useless opinion from 180.

180

[4dsc]

6. Peak oil ss not about running out of oil

but rather using the remaining recoveable oil which will be more expensive and there will be less of it!!

Imagine that in 10 years we have to use half of what we are using now??

[Tight_rope]

20. Damn...How will people get enough gas for their Hummers!

:shrug:

Seeing that right now...the Hummer probably gets 1 mile per gallon...lol.:sarcasm:

[Say_What]

23. When they pass me in the street I just smile :-)

:evilgrin:

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Mojorabbit]

9. I don't buy it either

I like him too but I do not believe this claim. Perhaps if growth in S America held at the present level or went downhill it might be true. I don't know enough about their economic situation.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

10. It's every bit as stupid...

...as every other bit of his made-for-external-consumption rhetoric.

[1932]

13. Brazil is energy independent, and that's the biggest economy in S.A.

I wouldn't be surprised if Venezuela exported 99% of the oil it produces every year, so it could fuel itself for 100 years on one year's production.

Venezuela provides the US with something like 15 or 20% of its oil, and the US consumes 50% of all oil, right? So what does S.A. consume? 15% of the worlds's oil? Venezuela has a lot of oil and S.A. doesn't use that much.

Venezueala probably could provide 200 years of oil for the whole continent presuming that the other S.A. oil producers continue at a reasonable level of production/export.

[info being]

11. A man who truly gets it

You don't get ahead by pandering to the Americans. You gotta use everything you have go up as a force against them.

[Flanker]

12. It depends on how you count oil reserves

If you add traditional, and non-traditional reserves Venezuela has more Oil than the entire ME combined, only Canada could rival it.

1-4 trillion barrels in the Orinoco belt from tar sands.

[wallwriter]

15. Standing up to Bush = more power at home.

Plus, it's just good, clean fun. I am very skeptical of Chavez, but he's largely a true grass roots kind of guy. The Bushies hate for this reason, combined with his control of strategic oil reserves.

It probably is 200 years' worth at the rate Venezuela consumes it. And isn't it Brazil that has already converted most cars to ethanol?

We could increase the amount of time oil reserves would last by reducing consumption, but that's not the "American way of life."

So Chavez is merely clever enough to hoist us on that petard. Doesn't take a genius.

Look how happy these f***ers are. They definitely know something.

[1932]

16. Why are you very skeptical about Chavez.

I was neutral on Chavez in 2001. However, every single thing that has happened since then has reinforced my certainty about his committment to making life better for the majority of the people in Venezuela.

[wallwriter]

21. Only for lack of knowledge.

The fact that Bush hates him and rails against him is an argument in his favor. It's more that nobody becomes a head of state with completely clean hands.

[rman]

25. You're sceptical of true grass roots?

That's practically what you're saying.
Why?

[wallwriter]

27. Don't be ridiculous.

I am skeptical that anyone can become a head of state without compromising themself in some fashion.

[SoCalDem]

17. His promise is nice, but it's always up to whomever is running venezuela

Once Chavez is out of office, the next president can just undo everything he's trying to accomplish.. We are living proof that who runs the country matters :(

[Solon]

18. I love Chavez, but he is promising the physically impossible...

This is as bad as Coal Estimates in the 1970s that said that coal would last for 500 years. There is no way in hell that the quality of life in South America can improve overall without an increase in energy consumption. Even counting the tar sands don't help, because those have a negative net energy return to begin with. Not even Chavez is immune from Peak Oil and THAT reality of the world today.

[geckosfeet]

26. Why not roll out the red carpet and ask B*shCo to invade your country?

This is like thumbing your nose at the arrogant B*shCo power wielders in DC.

In the long run, dependence on oil will make us slaves to our own shortsightedness.