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[April 20, 2006]

Chavez sees chance of oil hitting $100 per barrel

(EFE Ingles Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Curitiba, Brazil, Apr 20 (EFE).- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, an antagonist of the United States whose nation is the world's fifth-largest exporter of crude oil, said here Thursday that the essential commodity's price might well continue its sharp climb and reach upwards of $100 per barrel.

He said that if that happened, most of the fault would lie with the Bush administration, which the self-styled socialist revolutionary often describes as an evil empire.

"There are many variables that are at play now. For example, the war-mongering rhetoric of the empire, the United States military threat against Iran, which is one of the biggest oil producers," the Venezuelan leader said in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, where he arrived for talks on energy and business.

"The axis of evil is growing and will continue growing," Chavez said a day after meeting in Asuncion with the leaders of Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay to talk about energy issues.

The Venezuelan leader said Thursday that he planned to meet next week in Brasilia with his counterparts from Brazil and Argentina to discuss energy matters.

Chavez, a former army colonel, said Iran was a country that was "prepared for war."

"They are ready for a war. Now, hopefully, it will never come to this war. That could destabilize the Middle East even more and halt Iranian oil production, and that of other countries in the region," Chavez told reporters.

Chavez said an invasion of Iran "could finish destabilizing the little stability remaining in that very important region for the world, especially in the great basin of energy and oil resources in the Arabian and Persian gulfs," Chavez said.

OPEC oil in recent days has been trading at about $66 per barrel, while Brent, the benchmark crude for the European Union, surpassed $73.

Chavez blamed U.S. President George W. Bush's administration for much of the turmoil on the global oil markets.

The Venezuelan president, first elected in late 1998, and the Bush administration have been engaged in a long-running rhetorical war.

Chavez has accused the United States of war mongering and imperialism, and claimed that Washington planned to kill him and invade Venezuela to seize control of its vast oil reserves.

Earlier this year, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned about the leftist governments in Venezuela and Bolivia, and he compared Chavez's rise to power to that of Adolph Hitler.

"It depends on the United States. They should eliminate the option of military aggression against Iran" or any other country, Chavez said.

Iran has the sovereign right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful uses and not for war, Chavez said.

The Venezuelan leader said he supported seeking balance on the oil market, but he did not say what he thought it should be for the price of crude, adding that "it could reach $100."

Venezuela and the other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, have been seeking a balance among supply, demand and prices, Chavez said.

Chavez plans to meet in Brazil with business leaders and Parana state Gov. Roberto Requiao. He will talk with executives taking part in the Regional Meeting for Parana-Venezuela Integration, which is exploring joint business opportunities.

While Chavez spoke here, International Monetary Fund, or IMF, Managing Director Rodrigo Rato said in Washington that the price of crude would "probably" continue to be high and would have an effect on inflation.

During a press conference ahead of the start of the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, Rato said "things, in general, are going well" for the global economy, which the international financial institution forecasts will grow 4.9 percent this year.

Rato, however, warned that rising energy prices continued to pose a "serious risk" to the global economy, even though their effects until now had been "moderated."

In recent years, oil prices have been driven higher by surging energy demand in the United States and the fast-growing economies of China and India.

Increased political instability in the Middle East, largely due to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, and turmoil in Nigeria have also contributed to the spike in energy prices.

The IMF noted that supply problems caused by inadequate investment in infrastructure have also helped push energy prices higher. EFE

ol/hv

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