Venezuela Information

Republic of Venezuela, Republica de Venezuela, Venezuela

Venezuela Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana. Venezuela is slightly more than twice the size of California.

Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the other countries formed were Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Hugo CHAVEZ, president since 1999, has promoted a controversial policy of "democratic socialism," which purports to alleviate social ills while at the same time attacking globalization and undermining regional stability. Current concerns include: a weakening of democratic institutions, political polarization, a politicized military, drug-related violence along the Colombian border, increasing internal drug consumption, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples.

23 states (estados, singular - estado), 1 capital district* (distrito capital), and 1 federal dependency** (dependencia federal); Amazonas, Anzoategui, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolivar, Carabobo, Cojedes, Delta Amacuro, Dependencias Federales**, Distrito Federal*, Falcon, Guarico, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa, Sucre, Tachira, Trujillo, Vargas, Yaracuy, Zulia note: the federal dependency consists of 11 federally controlled island groups with a total of 72 individual islands.

Economic Overview: Venezuela remains highly dependent on oil revenues, which account for roughly 90% of export earnings, more than 50% of the federal budget revenues, and around 30% of GDP. Tax collection-Venezuela's primary source of non-oil revenue-is expected to surpass $23 billion in 2006, exceeding the yearend collection goal by more than 20%. A nationwide strike between December 2002 and February 2003 had far-reaching economic consequences - real GDP declined by around 9% in 2002 and 8% in 2003 - but economic output since then has recovered strongly. Fueled by higher oil prices, record government spending helped to boost GDP growth in 2004 and 2005 to approximately 18% and 11%, respectively. Economic growth in 2006 reached around 9%. This spending, combined with recent minimum wage hikes and improved access to domestic credit, has fueled a consumption boom - car sales in 2006 increased by around 70% - but has come at the cost of higher inflation. Despite government attempts to withdraw liquidity from the economy, Venezuela's money supply set a record in June 2006, approximately 70% higher than the previous year. Imports have also jumped significantly.

Venezuela's proven Oil Reserves 75.27 billion bbl (2006 estimate).

Venezuela

Phone international country code 58

Venezuela Government

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Venezuela from US and GB Sources

Venezuela Cities

Amuay Venezuela

Amuay is a port in the Falcón state, and has part of the largest oil refinery in the world, Paraguaná Refining Centre.

The Amuay (Judibana) Refinery came on stream in the early 1950s. The first upgrade was made in the late 1970s, with five new processes added: flexicoking, catalytic cracking, isomerisation, alkylation and crude light ends recovery. Lagoven owned and operated the plant until the company's downstream assets were absorbed by PDVSA and its upstream operations were taken over by PDV E&P. Lagoven used to be the biggest oil producer and refiner in Venezuela as well as the biggest supplier to the domestic market.

Another upgrade at this 635,000 b/d refinery was the installation of a sulphur recovery unit in 1996, the third at the complex. Its operations were suspended during the strikes of 2002-2003.

Much of the upgrading at this plant was done in the early 1990s and, when it was finished in October 1994, Amuay became a state-of-the-art facility. Expansion involved addition of a 34,000 b/d delayed coker and a coke combustion unit with a capacity of 445,000 tons/day. The added deep conversion capacity boosted the refinery's production of distillates and cut residual fuel output by 50,000 b/d. A new Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) plant was brought on stream at the Amuay Refinery in 1994.

A facility for the Amuay Flexicoker Disposal (DFAY) started up in September 1999. This facility can fill 200 heavy-duty sacks per day with coke and store them until they are shipped to buyers twice a month. They are sent through the Guranao port in vessels handling from 4,000 to 7,000 tons per trip. DFAY uses a special pneumatic system to fill two-ton sacks with coke, a procedure which helps reduce particle emissions and makes this byproduct much easier to market.

The DFAY facility opened up a new line of business, which kicked off with a first shipment of 2,371 of these "super bags", or the equivalent of 4,080 tons, sent to US clients on Sept. 11, 1999. The material is used by smelters for insulating electric-arc furnaces.

In late 2003 fire broke out at the Block 25 electric substation at Amuay as a result of an explosion. Refining was not affected because the substation site was distant from the core operations, and there were no hydrocarbons in the surrounding area per design.

Caracas Venezuela

Located in north Venezuela, following the contours of a narrow mountain valley.

Cuidad Bolívar Venezuela

Ciudad Bolívar is the capital of the eastern Venezuelan state of Bolívar.

Coro Venezuela
Santa Ana de Coro

founded in 1527 by Spanish colonists. The name "Coro" is believed to be an indigenous word meaning "wind". Coro is the capital of Falcón State and the oldest city in the west of Venezuela.

Maiquetia Venezuela

Maiquetía is a town in Vargas, Venezuela, near Caracas.

Maracaibo Venezuela

Maracaibo is the second-largest city in Venezuela after the national capital Caracas and is the Zulia State capital.

Maracay Venezuela

The mountains on the north side of Maracay, that separate it from the coast, make up the Henri Pittier National Park (also called Rancho Grande National Park), named after the Swiss naturalist, Henri François Pittier, that studied them. The park is a very lush rainforest, with a great variety of ferns and birds.

Margarita Venezuela
Margarita Island

Merida Venezuela
La ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida

The City of Mérida is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida.
Mérida was founded October 9, 1558 by the Spanish captain Juan Rodríguez Suárez with a group of soldiers in the town of "San Juan de Lagunillas", although about a year later it was moved to its current location a few kilometres further into the Chama river valley under the authority of the "Audiencia de Santa Fe" by Juan de Maldonado. It is named for the city of Mérida in Spain.

San Cristóbal Venezuela

San Fernando Venezuela
San Fernando de Apure

Founded February 28, 1788 on the banks of the Rio Apure, Apure River, by Don Fernando de Miyares González, the Governor and Capitán General of Barinas Province, New Granada, with the assistance of Don Juan Antonio Rodríguez and the Capuchine monk Fray Buenaventura de Benaocaz.

Valencia Venezuela

Valencia is the capital city of Carabobo State, and the third largest city of Venezuela.

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