torresD
2006-01-01 08:48:09 UTC
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?feed=AP&Date=20051231&ID=5385344
Puerto Rico Gets Discounted Venezuela Oil
All Associated Press NewsSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -
Some 250,000 barrels of discounted
Venezuelan crude oil have arrived
in Puerto Rico,
part of a bid by this U.S. Caribbean
territory to lower energy costs,
an official said.
The transaction was a "test run"
with Venezuela's state oil firm,
Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA,
Edwin Rivera Serrano,
head of the Electric Energy Authority,
or AEE, said late Friday in a statement.
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Rivera didn't say how much AEE paid for the oil,
only saying it saved 1.5 percent in the deal.
A call placed by The Associated Press on
Saturday seeking further information from
AEE went unanswered.
PDVSA's Citgo unit operates gasoline
stations in Puerto Rico but the issue
of AEE buying oil from Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez's government caused a stir here
when talks were announced in September.
Some conservative politicians questioned
if Puerto Rico should strike an oil deal
with Venezuela,
citing political tensions between the
South American country and the United
States.
Tensions have run high recently between
U.S. President George W. Bush and Chavez,
a self-styled socialist who assails
American-style capitalism and has
branded Bush a "madman."
However, other Puerto Rican leaders
saw it as an opportunity to buy oil
under preferential terms from Venezuela --
a deal the country has made with some
Caribbean and South American nations.
Despite the political tensions,
the United States remains the top
buyer of oil from Venezuela,
the world's No. 5 exporter.
In early December Venezuela delivered
discounted heating oil to a New York
City low-income housing development,
part of a promise Chavez made to
provide oil directly to poor Americans.
Chavez's critics contend the oil deal
is a cynical ploy to score public relations
points and tweak the Bush administration.
Puerto Rico Gets Discounted Venezuela Oil
All Associated Press NewsSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -
Some 250,000 barrels of discounted
Venezuelan crude oil have arrived
in Puerto Rico,
part of a bid by this U.S. Caribbean
territory to lower energy costs,
an official said.
The transaction was a "test run"
with Venezuela's state oil firm,
Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA,
Edwin Rivera Serrano,
head of the Electric Energy Authority,
or AEE, said late Friday in a statement.
Recent investing newsSouth Korea's
2005 Trade Surplus Shrinks Bank of
Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Debuts Medicare
Prescription Drug Benefit Debuts
Gazprom Cuts Gas Deliveries to
Ukraine Samsung and LG.Philips
start new LCD production
Rivera didn't say how much AEE paid for the oil,
only saying it saved 1.5 percent in the deal.
A call placed by The Associated Press on
Saturday seeking further information from
AEE went unanswered.
PDVSA's Citgo unit operates gasoline
stations in Puerto Rico but the issue
of AEE buying oil from Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez's government caused a stir here
when talks were announced in September.
Some conservative politicians questioned
if Puerto Rico should strike an oil deal
with Venezuela,
citing political tensions between the
South American country and the United
States.
Tensions have run high recently between
U.S. President George W. Bush and Chavez,
a self-styled socialist who assails
American-style capitalism and has
branded Bush a "madman."
However, other Puerto Rican leaders
saw it as an opportunity to buy oil
under preferential terms from Venezuela --
a deal the country has made with some
Caribbean and South American nations.
Despite the political tensions,
the United States remains the top
buyer of oil from Venezuela,
the world's No. 5 exporter.
In early December Venezuela delivered
discounted heating oil to a New York
City low-income housing development,
part of a promise Chavez made to
provide oil directly to poor Americans.
Chavez's critics contend the oil deal
is a cynical ploy to score public relations
points and tweak the Bush administration.