Are these the deals to come for the gold sector as well?

where Kry stand with these ? do we have a better deal ?

After today rally hopefully " YES "

Venezuela Signs Gas Deals With Foreign Companies (Update2)

By Matthew Walter and Jose Orozco

Sept. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela signed agreements today with OAO Gazprom of Russia, Italy's Eni SpA and other foreign companies for offshore natural gas projects that will require $19.7 billion in investment over eight years.

Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the state oil company, will form joint ventures with the firms, which include Chevron Corp., Qatar Petroleum, Petronas Corp. of Malaysia and three Japanese companies, according to a government statement today.

Venezuela, the biggest oil exporter in the Western Hemisphere, plans to boost output of natural gas. Today's energy deals come slightly more than a year after President Hugo Chavez took control of four heavy crude joint ventures, prompting ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp. to pull out of the country and seek arbitration.

``This is an historic act,'' Chavez said today during a signing ceremony at the presidential palace in Caracas.

The natural gas ventures will produce gas in the Caribbean Sea and transport and liquefy it for consumption in Venezuela and for export, Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said.

Venezuela aims to lift its natural gas production to 11.5 billion cubic feet a day by 2012, up from the current 6.3 billion cubic feet, Ramirez said.

The agreements were separated into three ``trains'' to produce and liquefy the gas, including a memorandum of understanding between PDVSA, Gazprom and Eni to explore and certify reserves. The ventures will produce and explore in the La Blanquilla and Tortuga areas off the Venezuelan coast, Ramirez said.

The Japanese companies involved in today's agreements are Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui & Co. and Itochu Corp.

U.S. Involvement

Chavez took a moment to especially thank representatives from Chevron, the only U.S. firm present at today's ceremony. Relations between the two countries have unraveled recently, with Chavez expelling the U.S. ambassador in Caracas last week.

``To the directors of Chevron, to businessmen from the United States, the only aspiration we have is that you respect us,'' Chavez said. ``Thank you for your presence.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Matthew Walter in Caracas at mwalter4@bloomberg.net; Jose Orozco in Caracas at jorozco8@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 19, 2008 14:43 EDT