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Venezuela's Ministry of Energy: Exxon Mobil must go
By Elio Ohep
Petroleumworld
CARACAS
Petroleumworld.com 03 30 06
Venezuela Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said Wednesday on an interview with the government run TV station, that Exxon Mobil was no longer welcome in the country and must leave.Ramirez explained that there was not room in Venezuela to a company that did not want to follow the Government policies, and Exxon Mobil has resisted tax increases and contract changes that are part of the new Venezuela government oil policies.
"There as some companies that prefer to leave" than accept the policy changes, Ramirez said in the interview "Exxon Mobil ... preferred to sell to Repsol, to its partner, rather than adjust.
In December, Exxon Mobil opted to sell its 25% interest in the Quaimare-La Ceiba operating service agreement to Spanish firm Repsol YPF rather than accept the terms of the migration to form a new joint venture with a majority stake by PDVSA.
"We said we don't want them to be here then," Ramirez said. "We have many partners, many capabilities and many countries that are willing to manage our resources with us." he added.
Earlier in the month, Exxon Mobil had to halt production at Venezuela's La Ceiba field amid problems in getting the government run oil company to transport crude being pumped there to market.
La Ceiba is estimated to currently produce about 12,000 barrels a day. La Ceiba was declared commercially viable at the end of September of this 2005 and its waiting the approval of its full development plan or DPA submitted some months back.The field is under a profit-sharing contracts with venezuela's oil company PDVSA. Under the terms of the contracts, PDVSA can purchase up to a 35% stake in each project once declared commercial.
Exxon and Canadian oil and gas company Petro-Canada each hold a 50 percent stake in the field, but Exxon is the operator of the contract. The field holds reserves estimates of 185 million barrels.
Last year, PDVSA ousted Exxon from a multibillion dollar petrochemicals project in February, claiming that the company did not meet timetables for getting the project off the ground.
Exxon Mobil, was also the only firm to publicly speak against a royalty increase on extra-heavy oil production in Venezuela's Orinoco river basin in 2004.
Other oil companies, including ConocoPhillips, Total, Chevron Corp. and Statoil, agreed to the new terms, while Exxon Mobil had threatened international arbitration.
Exxon is presently operating in venezuela, a 200.000 barrels daily extra heavy
oil reformer at its Cerro Negro's Orinoco faja belt project .Venezuela is the world's fifth largest oil exporter and a main source of U.S. oil imports.
- Elio Ohep, editor@petroleumworld.com, 58 412 996 3730, Caracas.
Petroleumworld News 30 03 06
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