Venezuela oil minister receives Rosneft president in Caracas

Venezuela's Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami has discussed the outlook for the world crude market with Igor Sechin, president of Russian oil company Rosneft, who is visiting Caracas, he said on Monday. Sechin arrived in Venezuela on Sunday to mark the tenth anniversary of the death of the South American country's former president Hugo Chavez, who was a close ally of Russia.

Venezuela's Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami has discussed the outlook for the world crude market with Igor Sechin, president of Russian oil company Rosneft, who is visiting Caracas, he said on Monday.

Sechin arrived in Venezuela on Sunday to mark the tenth anniversary of the death of the South American country's former president Hugo Chavez, who was a close ally of Russia. "We've held a working meeting with the executive director of Russian company Rosneft, my good friend Igor Sechin, and with the president of PDVSA," the minister said in a message via his Twitter account.

The meeting evaluated the outlook of the global crude market, El Aissami said, without giving further detail. Rafael Tellechea is the president of Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA.

The meeting with Sechin also examined the challenges facing the two oil companies, the minister said. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak visited Caracas last December to discuss both the volatility of the oil market and the status of Venezuela's outstanding debts to Russia.

Moscow has become a lender of last resort for Caracas, with the Russian government and Rosneft providing at least $17 billion in loans and credit since 2006.

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