Op-Ed
Commentary
Chron.com
:
How
do you
solve a problem like Venezuela?
Oil giants with heavy-oil production operations in Venezuela's
oil-rich Orinoco River basin generally aren't commenting on Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez's most recent takeover threats.
But
ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva happened to be a keynote speaker
opening a two-day conference today highlighting Rice University's
release of a massive study on national oil companies. Mulva shared
his concerns about his company's Venezuela operations with a gaggle
of reporters just days after Chavez said he had decreed a law
that PDVSA, his country's government-controlled oil company, would
take majority control of Orinoco projects by May 1.
Mulva called
the situation a challenge for ConocoPhillips and all other international
oil companies with Orinoco operations because of the size and
scope of those investments. And May 1 doesn't give the companies
much time to talk directly to the company and government.
Mulva says
"it's important for us to start our discussions with the
ministry and PDVSA," but it would be premature for him to
speculate on the outcome.
PDVSA has
long been a minority partner in Orinoco projects now controlled
by ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, BP, Chevron, France's Total and
Norway's Statoil. Press reports quote Chavez as saying he doesn't
want to kick those companies out, but he wants PDVSA to control
their operations.
Chron.com
NewsWatch
covers Energy with Brett Clanton, Tom Fowler and Kristen Hays
( http://www.chron.com/). Petroleumworld not necessarily share
these views.
Editor's
Note: This commentary was originally published by chron.com, on
March 1, 2007. Petroleumworld reprint this article in the interest
of our readers. Petroleumworld not necessarily share these views.
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News 03/02/07
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