Chávez seeks to peg oil at $50 a barrel

· Price could see Venezuela producing for 200 years
· Country's reserves may exceed Saudi Arabia's

"We have the largest oil reserves in the world, we have oil for 200 years." Mr Chávez told the BBC

"$50 a barrel - that's a fair price, not a high price."

Chávez is poised to launch a bid to transform the global politics of oil by seeking a deal with consumer countries which would lock in a price of $50 a barrel

The price proposed by Mr Chávez is about $15 a barrel below the current global level but a credible long-term agreement at about $50 a barrel

Venezuela holds 90% of the world's extra heavy crude oil

A $50-a-barrel lock-in would open the way for Venezuela

to demand a huge increase in its official oil reserves

allowing it to demand a big increase in its production allowance within Opec

"Seven years ago Venezuela was a US oil colony,"

17 oil companies had agreed to changes which will see 32 operating agreements become 30 joint ventures

will hold 60%