Venezuelan oil exports surge 78%

Venezuela's oil exports totalled $48.47 US billion in the first half of this year, a figure 78 per cent higher than for the same period in 2007, central bank figures released Wednesday showed. The high number for the country's main source of income reflected record prices for oil over those six months. Prices have declined sharply in recent weeks, and finished just shy of $115 US a barrel Wednesday. Venezuela's oil, of lower grade than the light crude fetching premium prices, was selling for an average $85 a barrel in the first half of this year, $30 more than during the same period in 2007. Venezuelan Energy and Petroleum Minister Rafael Ramirez on Tuesday said his country would propose OPEC production cuts if prices continue to fall. According to the central bank, overall imports into Venezuela -- chiefly food -- grew 13 per cent over the first half of last year to $21.6 billion.