WikiLeaks paper reveals US empire was becoming anxious about Venezuela adopting euro and directing exports to China
The
WIKILEAKS
Public Library of US Diplomacy (PlusD)
holds
the world's largest searchable collection of United States
confidential, or formerly confidential, diplomatic communications. As
of April 8, 2013 it holds 2 million records comprising approximately
1 billion words. The collection covers US involvements in, and
diplomatic or intelligence reporting on, every country on earth. It
is the single most significant body of geopolitical material ever
published. The PlusD collection, built and curated by WikiLeaks, is
updated from a variety of sources, including leaks, documents
released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and documents
released by the US State Department systematic declassification
review.
A cable
from March, 2008 was highlighting US concerns about the fact that the
Venezuelan state oil company, PDVSA, was about to adopt euro currency
for some, or even all of its oil sales.
It
appears that the cable source was the US embassy in Caracas and the
then US Ambassador to Venezuela, Patrick Duddy.
From the
summary we read:
PDVSA
is demanding payment in euros for at least some oil sales. It is not
clear what is the extent of the new policy. PDVSA is also considering
asking purchasers to pre-pay for purchases. To the surprise of
industry insiders, PDVSA will comply with President Chavez' order
banning asphalt shipments to the United States. Asphalt production
will be sold to the Chinese in the form of fuel oil. PDVSA continues
to suffer refinery problems and is importing gasoline and components.
Recall
that any attempt for liberation from the petro-dollar was one of the
key reasons for which the US empire was conducting wars. That is,
when oil-rich countries (Iraq, Libya and now Iran and Venezuela),
were trying to adopt other currencies and find other markets in order
to relief themselves from the brutal US economic war and sanctions.
It is
also worth noting that Patrick Duddy was
expelled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who
claimed to have uncovered an American-led plot to overthrow him. He
returned in July 2009 when the Obama Administration restored
diplomatic relations with Venezuela.
Key
points:
Reuters
reported on March 14 that PDVSA was demanding payment in euros for
some oil sales. Media reported later in the day that PDVSA officials
had confirmed the story. However, a shipping executive and marketing
executive told Petroleum Attache (Petatt) on March 14 that PDVSA
may now be requiring payment in euros for all oil sales.
The
shipping executive stated he was told by a PDVSA finance official
that the only exception to the policy was for shipments originating
in Curacao. He acknowledged he had received mixed messages from
PDVSA officials as to the extent of the policy but added he had seen
PDVSA documentation that clearly stated payment was to be made in
euros. He added that PDVSA currently has a tender for light naphtha
that requires payment in euros. The shipping executive said
transactions were to be computed in dollars and then converted to
euros at the current rate at the time of invoicing. The executives
believe buyers are depositing the payments in a Swiss bank. They
believe the bank is UBS.
According
to the marketing and shipping executives, asphalt will now be
exported to Curacao. Asphalt that previously went to the U.S.
market will be sold to the Chinese in the form of fuel oil. The
executives believe only 8,000 to 9,000 barrels of asphalt per day is
being exported via Curacao. Curacao provides asphalt to the
Caribbean. As a result, 80% of the asphalt base is being converted
into fuel oil and being sold to China. The executives stated the
Chinese have received a good price for the fuel oil since fuel oil
prices have been declining recently. The executives believe that
PDVSA is picking up the price of transport, which is substantial.
Full
cable:
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