May 7, Venezuela enacted a "national foundation in charge of the oil industry activities related to assets and Services Act." The next day, President Hugo Chavez announced that 60 domestic oil service companies of all by the Venezuelan national oil company (PDVSA) to take over.
This time, take over the oil services company, so that Chavez's "oil sovereignty" strategy and a big step.
As the world's fifth largest oil exporter and the only OPEC member in Latin America, Venezuela has the oil industry as its economic pillars. However, the implementation of the last century 90's "oil opening" policy that lifeline to a large extent left in the hands of the hands of foreign companies. Therefore, took office, Chavez will be "nationalized scalpel," the first draw to the oil industry.
For the Venezuelan government is concerned, the benefits of doing so is obvious, as the country's energy and oil minister Rafael Ramirez has said, the move was "not only to reduce production costs, it can substantially increase the Government's oil revenues."
But the industry pointed out that Venezuela's oil production over the past decade due to insufficient investment has fallen sharply, and the incident is likely to further "scare" oil investors to finance the original oil on stretched deeper experience of the Venezuelan financial distress may result in a sharp fall in crude oil production.
At present, foreign companies have been the nationalization of Chavez expressed strong dissatisfaction with the strategy. U.S. marine drilling NSK international oil companies is one of them. In January this year, the Government commissioned the company to force the collection of a set of oil drilling equipment, NSK international counter-attack immediately, the company suspended all drilling operations committee, and requested the Commission to pay PDVSA partners after the 35.5 million U.S. dollars in arrears contract.
Source: www.in-en.com Jun. 1, 2009
