Sales from the Chinese Fund account for USD 41.5 billion

The China-Venezuela Fund providing for the shipment of products, oil and by-products from Venezuela to China in exchange of funds has accumulated USD 41.5 billion in sales.

Rafael Ramírez, the Venezuelan Minister of Petroleum and Mining and president of Venezuelan state-owned oil company Pdvsa, briefed the Finance and Economic Development Committee of the National Assembly on the bilateral agreement entered into by Beijing and Caracas.

As many as 640,000 oil barrels per day of oil are sent to China. This includes by-products as well. Out of said amount, some 273,000 barrels are shipped to pay the loans granted by the Chinese Fund, which total USD 36 billion to finance production projects in Venezuela.

"We have paid USD 17.9 billion so far," so Venezuela holds surplus funds in the concentration accounts of the Chinese Fund. We have withdrawn USD 23.6 billion," the head of the oil company said.

The surplus Ramírez refers to is no other than the additional barrels daily delivered to China and that are not used to meet liabilities arising from the agreement. Those oil barrels, traded at market price according to the Venezuelan Government, are paid by China in concentration accounts used by the Venezuelan president to meet public expenditure liabilities.

However, although the funds deriving from the surplus return to the country's accounts, this does not include Pdvsa's. 

etovar@eluniversal.com

Translated by Jhean Cabrera