Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said yesterday that he hopes world oil prices will not rise any higher but accused the US of stoking geopolitical tensions behind the rally.

Chavez’s comments came in a speech inaugurating a new subway line in the capital of Caracas, during which he also pledged to divert any new revenues from surging oil prices to social and infrastructure development.

He also said that he plans to enter into a joint venture with China to manufacture oil drills, instead of buying them from US companies.

The world’s fifth-largest oil exporter, Venezuela sells most of its oil to the US, but Chavez has sought to reduce that dependency as relations between the two nations soured in recent years.

At the same time, he has worked to strengthen relations with China. The South American country presently sells 160,000 barrels a day of crude and diesel to China and aims to nearly double that to 300,000 barrels a day by the end of the year.