CARACAS, March 16 (Reuters) – Venezuela is selling its
stake in a refinery project with Finland’s Neste Oil that
operates facilities in Sweden and Britain, the South American
country’s energy minister said in comments published on Friday.

Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA and Neste Oil
are 50-50 partners in Nynas AB, which runs four refineries with
a combined capacity of 67,000 barrels per day (bpd).

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela published photographs on Friday of President Hugo Chavez chatting with Cuba’s Fidel Castro and walking in a hospital as he recovers from cancer surgery on the Communist-led island.

Stung by criticism it has shrouded the 57-year-old Chavez’s condition in secrecy and put out misleading information in the past, Venezuela’s government insists he is recovering quickly and will be ready to contest a presidential election on October 7.

CARACAS (Reuters) – An ebullient-sounding Hugo Chavez said on Thursday he was eating, walking at dawn and recovering fast from an operation on a suspected recurrence of cancer for the Venezuelan president.

“I’m very happy, I’m fine, my recovery is accelerating,” Chavez said in a phone call to Venezuelan state TV from Havana where surgeons removed a possibly malignant lesion from his pelvis four days ago.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez is back working on government affairs from Cuba after a successful operation for his suspected recurrence of cancer, allies said on Thursday.

Despite ministers’ upbeat assessment of the 57-year-old socialist leader’s health, rumors persist that his condition may be much worse than has been admitted, and the government has put out misleading information in the past.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Surgeons “completely” removed a lesion from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s pelvis and the socialist leader is in good physical condition after the operation in Cuba, Venezuela’s vice president said on Tuesday.

“President Chavez is in good physical condition … The diagnosed pelvic lesion was extracted completely along with the surrounding tissue. There were no complications relating to his local organs,” Vice President Elias Jaua told parliament.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez came out of cancer surgery overnight in Cuba and is recovering in a hospital, two sources said on Tuesday, but there was still no official word on the socialist leader’s condition.

The 57-year-old returned to Havana last week for more surgery despite repeatedly saying he was cured after two procedures last year. That has fueled doubts about his ability to campaign for re-election in October, or to govern if he won.

CARACAS, Feb 22 (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo
Chavez’s imminent departure for more cancer surgery in Cuba has
thrown his re-election campaign into uncertainty and once again
shaken the socialist leader’s passionate supporters.

Though the 57-year-old former soldier looked stoic and
played down the dangers of his latest condition, the
announcement inevitably raises questions over his ability to
stand for the Oct. 7 presidential vote – or rule beyond it.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s election rival wished him a fast recovery on Wednesday while allies closed ranks behind the “comandante” whose announcement of new surgery in Cuba revived doubts over his future.

The 57-year-old socialist will head to Havana in the coming days for an operation on a possibly malignant lesion in the same area of his pelvis where he had a tumor removed last year.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez will undergo another operation in the coming days after doctors in Cuba found a lesion in his pelvis where surgeons removed a large cancerous tumor last year, he said on Tuesday.

The 57-year-old socialist leader confirmed he traveled to Havana for the tests on Saturday. Rumors of the unannounced trip had prompted a flood of speculation among the opposition and supporters alike that he was at death’s door.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez said on Tuesday he would have to undergo another operation after doctors in Cuba found a lesion in his pelvis where surgeons removed a large cancerous tumor last year.

The 57-year-old socialist leader said he had travelled to Havana for the tests on Saturday. Rumors of the unannounced trip had prompted a flood of speculation among the opposition and supporters that he was at death’s door.