Chavez Threatens to Cut US Oil

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has threatened to halt all oil exports to the US following ExxonMobil's move to freeze billions of dollars worth of Venezuelan oil assets.

Last week, ExxonMobil said it had received court orders in Britain, the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles to freeze the assets of Venezuela state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA).

Venezuela will cut exports, pushing prices to US$200 a barrel, if the US continues its "economic war", the president told local media yesterday.

The warning by Chavez is the latest in a fierce dispute between the country and the US oil major, which is suing PDVSA in international arbitration for the seizure of a majority stake in a multibillion-dollar oil production project in Venezuela last year.

US Crude oil prices were unchanged yesterday following the threat, with March delivery trading at US$91.69 a barrel, writes Bloomberg.

Venezuela is the fourth-biggest oil supplier to the US.

By Ozge Ibrahim