By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez inaugurated his country's first Venezuelan-Russian offshore natural gas project on Friday, hailing his country's increasingly close energy cooperation with Russia as a counterweight to US imperialism.
Donning hard hats, Chavez and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin mingled with workers from Venezuela's government-controlled oil company and Russia's state-run gas giant, Gazprom, as exploration began at a Gulf of Venezuela drilling platform.
"Russia and Venezuela are establishing a strategic alliance," Chavez said during a televised address from the platform. "We have freed ourselves from Yankee imperialism."
Venezuela has South America's largest natural gas reserves, but they have remained largely untapped while the country has focused on oil production.
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