The Venezuelan ambassador to the Dominican Republic has reaffirmed his country’s opposition to the transportation of petroleum from Venezuela in privately owned ships. The Venezuelan ambassador Francisco Belisario Landis notified the Ministry of Foreign Relations that under no condition would it permit that such companies transport the oil it supplies without prior agreement, and he ratified Venezuela’s willingness to maintain the sales agreement that it signed last November. Belisario told El Caribe reporters that he believed it to be “understood by both parties.” He said that the agreement contains stipulations regarding the shipment of Venezuelan petroleum, and, the ambassador emphasized, there is no mention of a private firm doing the shipping. The Caracas Agreement on Energy Cooperation provided for deferred payment of up to US$150 million on shipments that can reach 50,000 barrels per day. While the ambassador recognizes that the Dominican Republic has the right to contract private shippers, “this has to be done based on a mutual understanding and prior acceptance by both sides.”