Venezuela takes over 32 privately operated oilfields

[ny_liberal]

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Thirty-two privately operated Venezuelan oilfields returned to state control Sunday with the start of the new year, the government said.

At midnight Dec. 31, a deadline expired for all private companies with contracts to independently pump oil to agree to joint ventures that will give Venezuela's state oil company majority control.

The 32 operating agreements were signed between 1990 and 1997, when Venezuela's petroleum industry was open to private and foreign capital. The objective at the time - when the price of crude was below $10 US a barrel - was to increase production at low-priority oil fields that had been closed because of their location or lack of resources and which Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., or PDVSA, had no plans to reactivate.

As oil prices crept back up in recent years, President Hugo Chavez's government sought to boost its control and share of profits from the industry. In 2001, it passed a hydrocarbons law that made the operating agreements illegal by requiring oil production to be carried out by companies majority-owned by the government.

As of Sunday, Venezuela had successfully completed "the recovery" of the 32 fields, Venezuelan oil minister Rafael Ramirez said in a statement.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2006/01/01/1375488-ap.html

[EST]

1. Wow!

Chavez means business and is very smart. Wanna bet Bush has sicced the CIA on him, big time?

[cliss]

6. Double-wow.

OMG, I can't imagine how pissed those oil companies must be right now. I remember reading an article about 2 weeks ago that said Chavez gave the oil companies an ultimatum: become government venture partners, or you're out...Exit Stage Left. Persona Non Grata.

I just assumed they would all swallow their pride and go for it. Less profits are still better than no profits.

And as of right now, they've got NO profits. In Venezuela at least. Yow, Chavez did not waste any time. His deadline was Dec. 31 and he held good on his threat.

I will be watching this story with great interest.

[High Plains]

15. Um, how about "exit stage right"?

[NI4NI]

8. Chavez has powerful enemies

Exxon Mobil for one, and I believe it's already obvious that he has been in their cross-hairs long before now and I mean that literally.

[Mika]

17. Big oil loves this. Its an excuse to raise prices.

The less oil available to the US market the higher the prices/profits.

Despite the mewlings from Bushco, they love this.

[tatertop]

18. Bush does not care too much about oil price rape

A survey of the sheeple determined that
the fucktards considered 2.25 to be a fair high price.
The price 'fell' to that and now the sky is the limit.

[ugarte]

2. As I recall, the US canceled lots of Iraqi oil contracts, too

Oil companies are big boys. They know the risks.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

3. Good. Oil is too important to be in the hands of corporations. nt

[Jersey Ginny]

10. Exactly what I was thinking

When Exxon announced 10B in profits during a national emergency, they made the case for govt control of oil.

[oneold1-4u]

4. Poor Chavez

bush will quickly burn him at the stake, just as the US did Castro when he nationalized and shut out all the american owned businesses and properties. They really thought they would own Castro the same as they owned the former dictator. Chavez may well be bush's nemesis because he at least can give oil to the poor of the US and the president would rather they just freeze! The poor and the old have no place in bushamerica!

[ShockediSay]

5. Chavez is not poor; nor is Latin America, while Bush has bankrupted

these United States & squandered our military.

Even the CIA is having a tough time these days.

If BushCo had the chance of maintaining superiority in Latin America, he blew it, big time. Lets hope our belief in checks and balances restrains BushCo from the police state invasive tactics it seems to favor, "fighting terrorism" while depriving freedoms.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

11. Not if we impeach Bush, or at least make one kickass effort to

Let's keep the criminal monkey in the WH busy worrying about whether or not he can continue his crime wave. Let's move for impeachment!

[cliss]

13. Bush is a little busy these days....

I wonder if Bush can "multi-task". I hear he's getting ready to bomb Iran and Syria. And let's not forget the quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan he created.

Such a mess. And the rest of the world despises us. Well, I'd say Bush has lit a lot of fires. I hope destroying Chavez is way down on his list of Urgent Must-do's.

[NI4NI]

7. Exxon Mobil is only company to not agree

"Exxon Mobil is the only company that so far has not ageed to switch to a joint venture and now faces the prospect of being forced out of the oil fields it currently operates".

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com

[rucky]

9. That'll be interesting...

:popcorn:

[DiverDave]

12. When's the invasion?

I can hear the rich bastards now "Now george, you KNOW that oil is ours!!"

Fuck em, I applaud Presidente Chavez.

[madeline_con]

14. From the article...

"Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil had resisted the contract changes, which will significantly reduce the oil companies' share of profits and control over operations and could also undermine the value of their Venezuelan assets."

How long until "civil unrest" breaks out, a "humanitarian crisis" begins, and troops have to be sent to Venezuela? :(

[AZCat]

16. How long does it take to route arms to opposition groups? n/t

[Deja Q]

19. Just like how corporations can take over land a private person owns.

Big government = bad.

Nobody's yet told me how big corporation (or how big corporation owns big government) is good.