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Venezuela has substantial investments in the United States as well. These investments include PDVSA’s ownership of CITGO which is the third largest refiner in the United States. Investments also include joint ventures that PDVSA has with Amerada Hess and ExxonMobil. These joint ventures own and operate major refineries in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Chalmette, Louisiana, respectively.
The United States is Venezuela’s primary energy export market; we deeply value the energy relationship between our two countries. Venezuela’s Successful and Rapid Recovery in 2003 In late 2002 and early 2003, the reliability and dependability of the Venezuelan energy sector was, unfortunately, threatened. Restoring PDVSA to its earlier production levels in a sustainable – and safe – manner presented enormous challenges. We have successfully met those challenges. In 2003 alone, PDVSA hired 6,000 new employees.
We restored our production and our refining operations quickly and fully. In fact, we did it in record time, without damaging any of our oil reservoirs. We are extremely proud that our exports of crude oil to the United States reached their highest level in December 2003. With 1.44 million barrels per day exported to the United States, Venezuelan oil now accounts for more than 15 percent of all oil imports to the United States.
Statement of the Embassy of Venezuela Before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources[Quoting your source]
We have successfully met those challenges. In 2003 alone, PDVSA hired 6,000 new employees. What he doesn't tell you is that that hiring was necessitated by political purges of the previous PDVSA workforce.
They're honest people, and Chavez's political goons reamed them -- and nobody in the U.S. press/MSM peeped about it. They'd have screamed bloody murder if ExxonMobil or Amerada had carried through a bloodless purge of their U.S. workforces, targeting Democrats and minorities.
Chavez wants to use PDVSA, and everything else he has got, to screw with the United States. He hates our guts going all the way back to when he was a leftist punk with a gun, back in the early 60's. He's totally hardcore. He gave Osama Bin Laden $1 million just as a business card to get Osama's attention, after 9/11, because Chavez admired Bin Laden's attack.