US imports from Venezuela at 12-year low |
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Fri, 16 Feb 2007 22:16
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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - U.S. crude oil imports from Venezuela hit a 12-year low in 2006 amid increasingly strained political ties between the two countries, according to U.S. figures released Friday.The preliminary data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that Venezuela was still the fourth-largest supplier of U.S. crude imports behind Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico.The world's leading oil consumer imported 1.139 million barrels a day from Venezuela in 2006, down 8.2 percent from 1.241 million the previous year, according to the EIA. That's the lowest level since 1994, when the United States imported 1.034 million barrels a day.U.S. officials have said the country must become less dependent on crude from politically unfriendly nations, including Venezuela.President Hugo Chavez has threatened to cut off oil to Venezuela's No. 1 market, said that prospect does not concern him.'If they do not want to buy it,' he said this week, 'say it, and I will not sell them oil.'Chavez has said Venezuela could switch exports to countries such as China and India, although his ability to find an immediate substitute is complicated because most refineries capable of processing Venezuela's heavy crude are in the United States.Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Venezuelan oil imports at 12-year low 