BigJerr
01-15-2009, 02:02 AM
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CARACAS, Venezuela ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) — President Hugo Chávez ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), buffeted by falling oil prices that threaten to damage his efforts to establish a Socialist-inspired state, is quietly courting Western oil companies once again.
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[Only registered and activated users can see links] (javascript:pop_me_up2('[Only registered and activated users can see links]',%20'15venez_CA0_ready',%20'width=720,height=600,scrollba rs=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')) Thomas Coex/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
President Hugo Chávez is expected to put forth a referendum this year that would let him run for indefinite re-election.
Related
The Perils of Petrocracy ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) (November 4, 2007)
Times Topics: Hugo Chavez ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) | Venezuela ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Enlarge This Image (javascript:pop_me_up2('[Only registered and activated users can see links]',%20'15venez_CA1_ready',%20'width=720,height=600,scrollba rs=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes'))
[Only registered and activated users can see links] (javascript:pop_me_up2('[Only registered and activated users can see links]',%20'15venez_CA1_ready',%20'width=720,height=600,scrollba rs=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')) Meridith Kohut for The New York Times
Social programs like food subsidies, which these women in Caracas picked up, are financed by Petróleos de Venezuela’s profits.
Until recently, Mr. Chávez had pushed foreign oil companies here into a corner by nationalizing their oil fields, raiding their offices with tax authorities and imposing a series of royalties increases.
But faced with the plunge in prices and a decline in domestic production, senior officials have begun soliciting bids from some of the largest Western oil companies in recent weeks — including Chevron, Royal Dutch/Shell and Total of France — promising them access to some of the world’s largest petroleum reserves, according to energy executives and industry consultants here.
Their willingness to even consider investing in Venezuela reflects the scarcity of projects open to foreign companies in other top oil nations, particularly in the Middle East.
CARACAS, Venezuela ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) — President Hugo Chávez ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), buffeted by falling oil prices that threaten to damage his efforts to establish a Socialist-inspired state, is quietly courting Western oil companies once again.
Skip to next paragraph ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) Enlarge This Image (javascript:pop_me_up2('[Only registered and activated users can see links]',%20'15venez_CA0_ready',%20'width=720,height=600,scrollba rs=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes'))
[Only registered and activated users can see links] (javascript:pop_me_up2('[Only registered and activated users can see links]',%20'15venez_CA0_ready',%20'width=720,height=600,scrollba rs=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')) Thomas Coex/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
President Hugo Chávez is expected to put forth a referendum this year that would let him run for indefinite re-election.
Related
The Perils of Petrocracy ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) (November 4, 2007)
Times Topics: Hugo Chavez ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) | Venezuela ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Enlarge This Image (javascript:pop_me_up2('[Only registered and activated users can see links]',%20'15venez_CA1_ready',%20'width=720,height=600,scrollba rs=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes'))
[Only registered and activated users can see links] (javascript:pop_me_up2('[Only registered and activated users can see links]',%20'15venez_CA1_ready',%20'width=720,height=600,scrollba rs=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')) Meridith Kohut for The New York Times
Social programs like food subsidies, which these women in Caracas picked up, are financed by Petróleos de Venezuela’s profits.
Until recently, Mr. Chávez had pushed foreign oil companies here into a corner by nationalizing their oil fields, raiding their offices with tax authorities and imposing a series of royalties increases.
But faced with the plunge in prices and a decline in domestic production, senior officials have begun soliciting bids from some of the largest Western oil companies in recent weeks — including Chevron, Royal Dutch/Shell and Total of France — promising them access to some of the world’s largest petroleum reserves, according to energy executives and industry consultants here.
Their willingness to even consider investing in Venezuela reflects the scarcity of projects open to foreign companies in other top oil nations, particularly in the Middle East.