India, Venezuela looking at energy deals

NEW DELHI, April 9 (UPI) -- India may become Venezuela's next energy target as President Hugo Chavez seeks to steer his Latin American nation away from dependence on the United States.

With swelling revenues resulting from skyrocketing oil prices, the continent's only member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Nations is reportedly looking into making a multibillion-dollar investment in refinery and other petrochemical projects in India.

In return, India will receive a stake in Venezuela's huge oilfields, yielding about 200,000 barrels a day, the Press Trust of India reported.

The agreement came during the visit of Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, the first such by an Indian minister to Venezuela, report said.

Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafal Ramirez Carreno was quoted as praising India's refining capacity and saying his national oil company PdVSA will look at setting up a refinery in India.

"We see export of 200,000 barrels per day of oil (from a field jointly operated by PdVSA and OVL) to a refinery project in India," he said.

The field is in the Orinoco heavy oil basin, which may hold up to 270 billion barrels of reserves, the PTI report said.