Venezuela vows to stabilize crude

The president of Venezuela promised yesterday to keep the price of crude oil steady at around 20 USD per barrel.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez claimed yesterday in Teheran that there is a plan within OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) to regulate production so as to maintain a level price. “After my talks in Saudi Arabia and with President Khatami in Iran, I would like to declare to the international community that the oil prices will not decrease more."

He said that Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela are to adopt “a victorious strategy to reset oil prices to a just level." President Chavez is on a 21-day tour of the Persian Gulf to promote cooperation between members of the OPEC cartel and non-members, such as Venezuela.

In recent months, OPEC has tried to seek a price rise in crude, trying to court Russia into a planned cut in production, so as to raise the price of the barrel of crude. However, the Russian Federation replied by stating that if necessary, it had the necessary reserves of oil to spread on the marketplace and guarantee a stability in the price of the barrel of crude. The mission of Hugo Chavez is a reinforcement of this policy from a non-OPEC member.

Marcia MIRANDA PRAVDA.Ru, BRAZIL