Venezuela will be ranked among the world's largest energy producers within the next five years, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he has agreed to meet with Colombian leftist rebels to try to break a deadlock between the rebels and the Colombian government, and free rebel-held hostages.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in Uruguay as part of a regional tour aimed at helping his country's bid for admission to the South American trade bloc Mercosur.

Venezuela's state-owned oil company says it is beginning to explore for oil in Cuban waters as part of a joint venture with the island's state-owned Cubapetroleo.

Venezuela is planning to sign an agreement with Russia’s private oil giant Lukoil on joint oil recovery by the end of the current year. President Chavez held a conversation with Lukoil representative in Venezuela Sergei Sipunov in a live television broadcast.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez on Sunday (July 29) accused former Venezuelan officials of allowing foreign oil companies to rob the country's immence petroleum resources, saying they should be charged with crimes.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will soon submit to the parliament a draft law abolishing presidential term limits.

Norway's Statoil has completed the drilling of Ballena, the second of the three wells that are part of the exploration campaign in Block 4 of Plataforma Deltana, located offshore eastern Venezuela. Out of two intervals tested, one flowed gas at significant rates.

Venezuelan state oil enterprise PVDSA confirms positive dialogue with oil workers of the top national industry, said Dario Merchan, director of personnel of this company.

Russia and Venezuela are preparing a contract for the delivery of Russian-made diesel submarines to the Latin American country, the head of Russia's state-run arms exporter said Thursday.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez broke ground Monday on a joint petrochemical complex south of Tehran, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

During the past month, tens of thousands of Venezuelan students have led massive demonstrations protesting President Hugo Chavez' decision to shut down the country's most popular private television station.