PetroCaribe, Cuba anxiously await Venezuela poll

摘要

The post-Chavez era is off to a discon- certing start for small neighbouring coun- tries that depend on Venezuela's oil lar- gesse. Whoever wins the 14 April presi- dential election between acting president and apparent frontrunner Nicolas Maduro - Hugo Chavez's anointed successor - and opposition candidate Henrique Capriles could renegotiate the favourable terms on which oil is supplied to Carib- bean and Central American states. Under PetroCaribe, state-owned PdV exported more than 150,000 b/d of crude and products last year under pref- erential payment terms that allow buyers to finance 25-40pc of the oil invoice for 15-25 years at interest rates of 1-2pc/yr. Under a separate bilateral agreement, Caracas sends over 100,000 b/d to Cuba in exchange for medical, social and secu- rity services (WPA, 8 March, p9).