Russia, Venezuela To Cooperate On Energy

Russia and Venezuela have agreed to cooperate in oil and natural gas development. Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Hugo Chavez met in Siberia Friday to ink a deal that also includes a $1 billion loan for Venezuela to buy Russian weapons. (Platts)

There was no specific amount announced for the energy deal, though Russia’s energy minister said the joint oil company will invest “tens of billions of dollars” to develop fields in Latin America and and other areas. The JV includes Petroleos de Venezuela and Russian oil companies Gazprom, Rosneft, TNK-BP, Lukoil and  Surgutneftegaz.

Sources:

• Russia, Venezuela sign energy, military MOUs (Platts)
  Russia, Venezuela to Form Oil Venture, Spend Billions (Bloomberg)
  Putin meets Chavez (RussiaToday) (video)