"We expect to double gas production and become a global super energy power," Chavez said in his weekly six-hour TV show, 'Hello President,' which has aired on Sundays since he took office in 1999.
Chavez said the priority of the "gas revolution" was to fully meet domestic consumption needs. Gas integration will be launched with neighboring countries when this target has been met.
Chavez said amendments to tax regimes for foreign oil companies introduced earlier this year had earned over $8 billion in revenues for the country's budget after Venezuela refrained from "colonial oil production schemes."
Venezuela's gas reserves, the world's ninth largest, amount to 149 trillion cubic feet, accounting for 56% of the total reserves in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, the current gas production, though close to domestic consumption levels, currently lags behind that of Argentina or Mexico due to an inadequate transportation and distribution infrastructure.
