Chavez Says Venezuela Can Sell Oil Anywhere, Not Just to U.S.

(Bloomberg) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has threatened to cut off oil sales to the U.S., said reports that making such a decision would hurt his country’s economy are false, and that Venezuelan oil can be sold anywhere.

Chavez denounced an editorial published this week in the Washington Post, which said the president’s government would be the “first victim” if he decided to cut off oil sales to the U.S.


“If the U.S. didn’t need the oil, they would have boycotted us a long time ago,” Chavez said last night in an interview on state television, according to an e-mailed statement from the information ministry. “Try it then. We’ve got more buyers than we can handle in the first place.”

Chavez’s threat to cut off the U.S. stemmed from a conflict between Petroleos de Venezuela SA and Exxon Mobil Corp. The U.S. company last month got court orders freezing $12.3 billion of the Venezuelan state oil company’s assets to ensure it will be compensated for its stake in a heavy crude joint venture that was nationalized last year.

Bloomberg