Though Chavez spokesmen would not officially comment on the agenda of the Namibia visit in September, Energy Ministry officials have expressed an interest in a joint Namibia and Venezuela oil exploration project.

In recent years, Chavez has sought to find new customers for his country's crude in hopes of lessening Venezuela's dependency on the United States, the South American country's top customer.

Last month Chavez traveled to Gambia for the African Union summit along with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. At those talks, Chavez said his country was "tired of being exploited" by the United States and sought to bolster ties with African leaders who share his sentiment.

His announced visit to Africa in September follows the recent decision by Venezuela to create its own "Halliburton-style company" to manage every aspect of its own oil production and expand capabilities for operations abroad.

The new company, set to be operated by state-run energy firm PDVSA, would allow the country to control oil extraction and production from beginning to end and provide services to regional countries.

Venezuela's pledge to improve its oil production follows a recent report that Latin America's largest oil producer was suffering from equipment shortages responsible for waning production levels.

Last month Luis Vierma, exploration and production vice president at PDVSA, said Venezuelan oil faces a "significant operational emergency" if it does not increase the number of rigs operating in the country and that the state firm fell short of its 2007 goal of getting 191 rigs online in 2007 and producing some 3.3 million barrels per day.

"Venezuela is moving toward technological independence, but it will take a long time," he said.

PDVSA's independence could take even longer considering Venezuela's oil output is believed to have slipped by more than 250,000 barrels per day from a year ago, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency. Production has reportedly decreased from 2.6 million bpd to 2.37 million bpd.

In an effort to reverse the production shortfall, PDVSA announced recently it was investing $3.5 billion in new oil rigs, a much-needed injection of cash for improvements to a sector that some experts say has been abused by Chavez for his social programs.

In the meantime, shortfalls at home could in turn prevent Venezuela from expanding its operations elsewhere.

However, some analysts say Venezuelan energy officials' professed concerns about "an operational emergency" could be a calculated effort to jump-start the oil sector.

"Recent statements by PDVSA officials declaring the company in 'operational emergency' seem to aim at legitimizing a fast-track procurement process that bypasses normal bidding rules," read a July report by the New York-based Latin Source.

Meanwhile, the announcement of the creation of PDVSA Services follows a recent tour of the region by Chavez, who has pushed for greater energy integration in Latin America. This month alone he traveled to Ecuador, Uruguay, Bolivia and Argentina to bolster energy ties with the nations and said he would help several countries improve their oil refining capabilities.

The Argentina deal could be in jeopardy, though, amid a scandal involving a Venezuelan businessman found carrying $800,000 on a flight that landed in Buenos Aires. A leading PDVSA official responsible for the Argentina deal resigned last week amid the investigation involving officials from both countries.

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