MIAMI, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Efforts to nationalize Venezuela’s oil and gas sector have increased government revenue by $5.8 billion a year since 2004, according to President Hugo Chavez.

In a national address last week, Chavez said, “You can’t have a socialist economist model … without including oil,” a reference to his recent efforts to wrest greater state control of the country’s petroleum sector.

On May 1, Venezuela’s state-run energy company Petroleos de Venezuela SA assumed majority control of the Orinoco River oil reserve, a move that added an additional $800 million to state coffers, Chavez said.

The extra revenue will go toward social programs for poor Venezuelans, Chavez said, as well as education and defense.

Chavez also took time to defend Oil and Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez, who was criticized following recent comments from a PDVSA official who said the national firm was facing an uncertain future due to a shortage of oil rigs.