[News] Exxon will Never Again Steal from Venezuela Says Chavez

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Exxon will Never Again Steal from Venezuela Says Chavez

February 11th 2008, by Kiraz Janicke - Venezuelanalysis.com
[]

Caracas, February 11, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com) 
- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez classified the 
intention of the worlds largest oil company, 
ExxonMobil, to freeze assets of state-owned 
Venezuelan oil company Petróleos de Venezuela 
(PDVSA), as part of a US government backed 
"economic war" and destabilization campaign 
against his government and the people of 
Venezuela. Chavez vowed that the Venezuelan 
government would not be intimidated.

"They will never rob us again, those bandits of 
ExxonMobil, they are imperialist bandits, white 
collar criminals, corruptors of governments, 
over-throwers of governments, who supported the 
invasion and bombing of Iraq and continue 
supporting the genocide in Iraq," he said on his 
weekly TV show ‘Alo Presidente.'

Last week, Exxon said it won temporary court 
orders in the UK, the Netherlands, and the Dutch 
Antilles to freeze PDVSA assets worth up to $12 
billion, in a dispute over compensation for a 
41.7% stake (worth $750m), in the Cerro Negro 
exploration project in the Orinoco oil field. The 
project was nationalized by the Venezuelan 
government in May last year as part of a drive to 
gain majority state participation in the 
country's oil production joint ventures.

Other major oil companies including U.S.-based 
Chevron Corp., France's Total, Britain's BP PLC, 
and Norway's Statoil negotiated deals with 
Venezuela to remain on as minority partners in the Orinoco oil belt projects.

However, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil, rejected 
the changed conditions and have been in 
compensation talks with PDVSA. A spokesperson for 
ConocoPhillips said they are seeking an "amicable 
resolution" with the Venezuelan government.

ExxonMobil rejected an initial compensation offer 
by the Venezuelan government and is seeking 
arbitration. Another injunction solicited by 
ExxonMobil in a New York court in January also 
froze up to $315 million in funds owned by the Venezuelan oil company.

However, all of the court orders are subject to 
appeal and the Venezuelan government is set to 
challenge the injunctions in New York and London 
on the 13th and 22nd of February respectively.
Chavez has warned that if the injunctions are not 
overturned Venezuela will suspend oil shipments to the United States.

"If you freeze us, if you really manage to freeze 
us, if you damage us, then we will hurt you. Do 
you know how? We are not going to send oil to the United States," he said.

Venezuela is the U.S.'s fourth largest oil 
supplier behind Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico. 
According to the latest figures from the U.S. 
Energy Department, Venezuela accounted for 12% of 
U.S. crude oil imports in November, supplying some 1.23 million barrels a day.

"Take note, Mr. Bush, Mr. Danger. If the economic 
war continues against Venezuela, the price of oil 
will reach $200. Venezuela will take up the 
economic war and more than one country is inclined to join us," he added.

Nicaragua's President, Daniel Ortega, backed up 
Chavez's stance, saying the move by Exxon in 
conjunction with recent comments attacking 
Venezuela by US National Intelligence Chief, Mike 
McConnell showed "a clear imperialist offensive against Venezuela."

"What I want to say to President Chavez and to 
the Venezuelan people is that they can count on 
the unconditional solidarity and approval of the 
Nicaraguan people," Ortega added.

PDVSA, which accounts for some 90% of Venezuela's 
foreign exchange and half of federal tax revenue, 
has been central to the Chavez government's 
policy of wealth distribution through funding 
immensely popular social programs that provide 
free education and healthcare to the poor. In 
2006 the government invested more than $13 billion in such programs.

Venezuela's predominantly wealthy opposition 
sectors, hostile to Chavez's nationalization and 
wealth distribution policies, blamed the 
government for Exxon's injunctions, arguing the 
oil project "should never have been nationalized in the first place."

However, Chavez pointed to the two-month oil 
industry shutdown, orchestrated by the opposition 
in an attempt to oust him from government in 
2002-2003, which caused an estimated $10 billion 
worth of damage to the economy and said there are 
some Venezuelans that want to destroy PDVSA.

Similarly, Venezuela's Ambassador in London, 
Samuel Moncada also criticized the "anti-national 
conduct of some Venezuelans," specifically the 
owners and workers of private TV station 
Globovision, "who demonstrated their open and 
unconditional support" for the attacks of 
ExxonMobil against Venezuelan interests.

In contrast, the actions by ExxonMobil have 
angered many poorer Venezuelans who view the move 
as an attack on Venezuela's sovereignty and who 
have organized protests around the country. Oil 
workers in the Cerro Negro project, (renamed 
Petromonagas), rejected the judicial actions of 
ExxonMobil as completely unacceptable. Union 
leader Luis Carvajal said, "This transnational 
has exploited our wealth, has exploited our 
workers and violated our rights - all the workers 
in the Orinoco oil belt support the nationalization."

Stalin Pérez Borges, national coordinator of the 
National Union of Workers said the injunctions 
are "a political-economic attack that is part of 
a plan against the revolutionary process."

The founding congress of the new United Socialist 
Party of Venezuela has passed a resolution 
calling for demonstrations against ExxonMobil 
this Thursday in Caracas and in Maracaibo, in the oil rich state of Zulia.

Source URL: http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/
Printed: February 12th 2008
License: Published under a Creative Commons 
license (by-nc-nd). See creativecommons.org for more information.




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