CARACAS (AFP) - President Hugo Chavez said that Venezuela will be capable of exporting three million barrels of crude oil a day to China, an eight-fold increase on current levels.

"In a few years Venezuela will reach the level of exporting up to three million barrels a day... we are going to have refineries there, just like we do in the United States," the leftist leader said during his weekly television address.

"Last year we topped 380,000 barrels a day and we have signed a deal to soon reach the one million mark."

During his last visit to Beijing in April Chavez discussed the possibility of constructing a refinery in the country, capable of processing 400,000 barrels at day.

Today the majority of Venezuela's vast oil reserves -- around 1.5 million barrels a day -- are destined for markets in the United States.

Chavez has frequently threatened to cut the supply of oil to the United States, but comentators say it provides vital revenue for his government.

Venezuela, which has seen oil prices drop sharply since September, plans to double its natural gas production by 2013, with an eye to exports markets.