Venezuela Nationalizes Foreign Oil Rigs

ENERGY TECH

File image of a Venezuelan oil rig.

by Staff Writers
Caracas (AFP) May 14, 2007
The Venezuelan government of firebrand President Hugo Chavez said Monday it was taking control of oil rigs from multinational firms, in the latest of a wave of nationalizations. Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez, who also heads the state-owned energy company PDVSA, said the firm had in the past ceded control of 18 offshore drilling platforms to foreign giants.

"These companies demand millions for the use of these machines. Faced with this situation, we have decided to nationalize this equipment," he told the official Venezuelan news agency ABN without elaborating.

Oil services firms present in Venezuela include US giants such as Halliburton, Baker Hughes and Schlumberger.

At the start of his second six-year term in January, the leftist Chavez decided to nationalize "strategic" interests in sectors such as energy, telecommunications and power generation.

Chavez, whose government is flush with cash from booming oil prices, has been a repeated thorn in the side of the United States, which buys about half of Venezuela's daily crude production of three million barrels.

PDVSA is diversifying its supply of drilling machines used in oil exploration, and Ramirez said the first of a new batch from China would arrive in November.

"The idea is to acquire 13 machines, with one arriving each month," the energy minister said.

"In parallel to this agreement, Venezuela will install an assembly plant for drilling machines and in a second stage, the objective will be to make these machines directly in the country," he said.

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ENERGY TECH

Bush Vies To Wean US Off Foreign Oil

Washington (AFP) May 14, 2007
President George W. Bush, facing mounting disquiet about global warming and sky-high fuel prices, Monday ordered his government to slash America's dependence on foreign oil. Bush said his directive to cut gasoline usage by 20 percent in the next 10 years will make the United States "more secure for generations to come," help economic growth and safeguard the environment.

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