Russians, Venezuelans May Conduct Exercise Near Offshore Oil, Gas Fields
Peter the Great is coming to Venezuela and Hugo Chavez couldn’t be happier and the Bush administration unhappier.
Peter the Great is a Kirov Class battlecruiser and one of the jewels of the Russian navy. Armed with Granite anti-shipping missiles, the nuclear-powered warship will lead a task force of three other vessels and a detachment of anti-submarine and anti-shipping aircraft to Venezuela.
Once there, the vessels and 1,000 Russian naval infantry (their version of the U.S. Marines) will conduct wargames with the Venezuelan navy. The timetable is sometime in November or December, depending on which media you listen to: the Russians says the exercise may take place in November or December while Chavez, after announcing the joint exercise, will now only say that preparations are under way.
The Russian vessels and infantry are from their Pacific Fleet and while there is a lot of speculation about what their imaginary foe will be, most analysts agree it is aimed at protecting Venezuela’s energy links and its offshore oil and gas fields.
The Venezuelan navy consists of two 30-year-old submarines, six frigates and a number of patrol boats along with 7,800 marines will be working closely with the Russian vessels (if the exercises take place) to protect and defend the offshore oil and gas platforms from submarine, surface and aerial attack.
The Russians have said the exercise is not directed at any third party and is their way of helping a friendly state beef up its military presence. It comes on the heels of the visit to the Black Sea (which Russia has long considered its territory) of U.S. warships carrying aid to Georgia after its five-day war with the Russians.
Stay tuned. More to come. The Russians are preparing another exercise to hold and defend oil and gas fields in the Arctic Ocean they have claimed and are now working in the Caribbean to sharpen their skills in doing the same thing–only in warmer waters. An interesting story that probably won’t get a lot of play with Hurricane Ike roaring toward a landfall somewhere along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
–John A. Sullivan, News Editor, Oil and Gas Investor, www.OilandGasInvestor.com, jsullivan@hartenergy.com
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