Venezuela's Chavez names cousin state oil co VP

CARACAS May 24 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has named his cousin Asdrubal Chavez Vice President of Refining for state oil company PDVSA, according to a company official and the official gazette circulated on Thursday.

The president's brother Adan Chavez is education minister and his father Hugo is governor of his home state of Barinas.

Asdrubal Chavez, formerly PDVSA's Commerce and Supply Director, is replacing Alejandro Granado who has been tapped to head U.S. refinery Citgo, a subsidiary of PDVSA.

The shuffle comes as Citgo President Felix Rodriguez is preparing to assume the position of director-general of Ruhr Oel, a German joint venture between PDVSA and BP (BP.L).

Chavez's appointment was published in the nation's official gazette that circulated on Thursday.

Asdrubal Chavez, a chemical engineer, has also served as Executive Director of Human Resources and General Manager of the 130,000 barrel-per-day El Palito refinery.

(Additional reporting by Deisy Buitrago)