venezuela and china sign oil deal venezuelan president hugo chavez has offered china wide-ranging access to the country s oil reserves.  the offer  made as part of a trade deal between the two countries  will allow china to operate oil fields in venezuela and invest in new refineries. venezuela has also offered to supply 120 000 barrels of fuel oil a month to china. venezuela - the world s fifth largest oil exporter - sells about 60% of its output to the united states. mr chavez s administration  which has a strained relationship with the us  is trying to diversify sales to reduce its dependence on its largest export market.  china s quick-growing economy s need for oil has contributed to record-high oil prices this year  along with political unrest in the middle east and supply bottlenecks. oil prices are finishing the year roughly 30% higher than they were in january 2004.  in 2004  according to forecasts from the ministry of commerce  china s oil imports will be 110m tons  up 21% on the previous year. china has been a net importer of oil since the mid 1990 s with more than a third of the oil and gas it consumes coming from abroad. a lack of sufficient domestic production and the need to lessen its dependence on imports from the middle east has meant that china is looking to invest in other potential markets such as latin america. mr chavez  who is visiting china  said his country would put its many of its oil facilities at the disposal of china. chinese firms would be allowed to operate 15 mature oil fields in the east of venezuela  which could produce more than one billion barrels  he confirmed. the two countries will also continue a joint venture agreement to produce stocks of the boiler fuel orimulsion. mr chavez has also invited chinese firms to bid for gas exploration contracts which his government will offer next year in the western gulf of venezuela. the two countries also signed a number of other agreements covering other industries including mining.