Venezuela President Hugo Chavez - "We are facing an energy crisis to which we have to pay utmost attention: we've reached the top of the world petroleum production and the price is rising."
Venezuela has a "strong oil card" to play on the world geopolitical stage and against the United States, he said. Venezuela is the fifth largest oil exporter in the world and a key crude supplier to the United States, providing the latter with 1.5 million barrels of crude per day.