Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez gestures during an agreement signing ceremony at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010. Venezuela's state-run oil company signed a series of agreements with foreign and domestic firms to develop oil fields in the South American nation's petroleum-rich Orinoco region. On background, a painting depicting Venezuela's independence hero Simon Bolivar. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)