Venezula plans to send as much oil to China as it does to its traditionally largest buyer, the U.S. , within the next three years, Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Thursday.

The South American country also continued reaping the benefits of high global oil prices with its state energy monopoly Petroloes de Venezuela, or PdVSA, taking in a record revenue of $127.8 billion in 2011 from 2010's $94 billion, Ramirez said in comments carried on state television.

During his more than 12 years in power, President Hugo Chavez has used income from PdVSA to bankroll the large-scale social programs that have won him strong support among the country's many poor. During that time he has also strengthened economic ties with China , which has granted the hydrocarbons-rich country billions in loans for development projects and is working in various areas from housing construction to mining in Venezuela .

As part of its repayment for the loans, Venezuela sends oil shipments to China , which on Thursday, Ramirez said have reached 460,000 barrels a day.

"We are going to sell China one million barrels a day by 2015," by which time the Asian economy will be buying just as much oil as the U.S. , said Ramirez, who doubles as PdVSA chief.

He added that China "will pay a slightly better [higher] price" than those paid by other buyers "because it's a distinct market."

Neither country has formally published the loan-for-oil pacts but Venezuelan government documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal in November showed that China appears to be paying roughly market prices, despite speculation that Venezuela was selling its crude at steep discounts.

Ramirez explained that costwise, shipments to China are not more expensive than those to the U.S. because Venezuela sends multiple tankers that hold 300,000 barrels of oil to the U.S., while for China they send "supertankers" that can hold as much as 2 million barrels, taking all the oil in one trip.

U.S.-bound shipments "end up being more expensive than those sent to China ," Ramirez said.

In addition, PdVSA's joint venture with China National Petroleum Company, or CNPC, allows for both parties to split the transport cost evenly, Ramirez added.

Venezuela is planning heavy investments of $15 billion a year into its vast Orinoco heavy oil reserves in a bid to sharply increase output in upcoming years.

The Oil Ministry has said it aims to reach 3.5 million barrels a day in total production this year from 3 million. They plan to nearly double output by 2019.

The government's data, however, has been disputed by others like the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy Agency, both of which put current Venezuelan production closer to 2.4 million barrels daily.

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