PDVSA Sees Growth in China

Petroleos de Venezuela announced that it expects crude oil exports to China to rise more than fourfold to 300,000 barrels of oil a day by 2012. Sales to China have averaged about 69,000 barrels a day this year. President Hugo Chavez has repeatedly said that he wants Venezuela, the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter, to diversify customers and reduce its dependence on the US market. The US currently receives about 60 percent of Venezuela’s daily exports of about 2 million barrels.