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Venezuelan oil nationalization decree 'disturbing': US DOE
Platts
Washington
Petroleumworld.com 02 28 06
The US Department of Energy Tuesday expressed concern over the
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' announcement that the state would take over
oil projects run by foreign oil companies in the Orinoco River region."This is a disturbing trend away from open and transparent market
principles," said DOE spokesman Craig Stevens. "These actions will
considerably affect, to the detriment of the Venezuelan people, the long-term
development of that country's natural resources and ultimately their economic
growth."Chavez, during his radio broadcast Monday, said he had decreed the
nationalization of joint ventures in the Orinoco belt. "This was the last
trace that remained of the harmful opening of the petroleum sector," Chavez
said in reference to the Orinoco Belt heavy oil projects.State oil company PDVSA until now was a minority partner in the four
heavy oil projects in the Orinoco Belt, which are run by foreign majors
ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Total.Venezuelan oil minister Rafael Ramirez has previously said the goal was
to increase PDVSA's stake in the projects to 60%.Ramirez in January said the government had chosen to nationalize the
Orinoco projects because last year's negotiations with the private companies
were going too slowly.The combined crude production of the four Orinoco projects is about
600,000 b/d.--Cathy Landry, cathy_landry@platts.com
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Platts 27 02 07
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