Venezuela’s Congress has given initial approval to a windfall oil tax that extends President Hugo Chavez’s campaign to increase government revenue from the oil industry. The tax will tap into private company profits amid record oil prices above $100 per barrel, and will step up his confrontation with the global energy giants, like BP.
Latin American oil
Court Backs Chávez in Row with Exxon
President Hugo Chávez has scored a significant victory over Exxon Mobil when a British court lifted a $12bn freeze on Venezuelan assets and sided with his administration against the oil giant. The ruling backed Venezuela’s government in a row with the US multinational over an oil field in the Orinoco, a decision which could embolden … Read More
Ecuador Repairs Ruptured Pipeline
Ecuador is reopening its main oil pipeline, three days after a landslide ruptured an 80-meter (262-foot) section of the duct, spilling thousands of barrels of oil into the local environment. The ecological fallout from the 4,000 barrel spill in a mountainous region 25 miles east of Ecuador‘s capital, Quito, is “grave,” as many tributaries for … Read More
Venezuela Pays Oil Companies $1.8 Billion
Venezuela has confirmed it has paid $1.8 billion in compensation to French, Norwegian and Italian oil companies for nationalizing key oil fields in the Orinoco basin in 2006. France’s Total, Norway’s Statoil and Italy’s ENI gained the settlement after they accepted the book price for the assets Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA oil company took over.
Venezuela Threatens to Cut US Oil Supplies
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has threatened to cut off oil supplies to the US if it continues what he calls an economic war. “Take note Mr Bush, Mr Danger,” said Mr Chavez in his weekly televised address. “I will cut off oil supplies.” British and US courts froze assets belonging to Venezuela’s state energy company … Read More
‘Huge’ Gas Field Found off Brazil
Brazil says it has found another “elephant.” This time it is a huge natural gas field called, Jupiter, which could match the recently discovered Tupi oil field in size. The field has been found a short distance off Rio de Janeiro’s coastline. While not providing any specific details on the size of the new reserve, … Read More
China Seeks Arbitration in Ecuador Oil Row
Ecuador is the latest oil-producing country to try and renegotiate the terms and conditions over contracts, this time trying to impose a windfall tax on Chinese companies in the country. However the Chinese state oil firms are seeking international arbitration to try to overturn the move, arguing it threatens millions of dollars of investment in … Read More
“God is Brazilian!”
“God is Brazilian,” declared the country’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after his government’s announcement earlier this month that massive new oil reserves had been discovered offshore. Brazil’s government and the state-run oil company Petrobras announced two weeks ago that exploration of its Tupi offshore field showed it had enough to increase national oil … Read More
Brazil Considers Joining OPEC After “Monstrous” Find
Brazil is to consider joining OPEC after it has gauged the impact on its oil exports from its newly discovered giant offshore Tupi oil field. Isnard Penha Brasil said that “a membership decision will come after we know what our export capacity will be and we think this will be good.” Last week, Brazil confirmed … Read More
Chavez Proposes OPEC Sell Cheap Oil to Poor Countries
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is proposing that OPEC should sell oil to poor countries at dramatically lower prices than those paid by wealthy nations, says the International Herald Tribune. Chavez will ask members of OPEC to consider a plan to aid poor countries struggling with rising oil prices, as a summit this weekend. “I would … Read More