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Caracas is nowadays facing EXXON MOBIL enterprises, with a new strategy based on the defense of sovereign, and a bunch of statutes supporting the control of the State on the natural resources.
"Petróleos de Venezuela" (PDVSA), the state agency that administrates the petrol resources in that country, decided to stop selling crude petrol to Exxon, due to a its denounce presentation based on the seizure of some refineries located in ORINOCO. This state agency justified its decision on the judicial arassment started by Exxon Mobil. This group, on top of the international petrol ranking, sued Venezuela pursuing an international arbitration and claiming to obtain certain compensations because it has been deprived of the petrol region of Orinoco, which has been nationalized. Due to that judicial actions, The London Supreme Court uttered a "freezing" order against "Petróleos de Venezuela", so the assets disposal is forbidden, in the whole world, for 12 thousand millons dollars. Venezuela has stated that Exxon presentation does not have any relation with PDVSA economic and finantial solidity, since this company has assets for more than 109.000 million dollars. On the other hand, next month PDVSA is facing also another trial upon an american court, where there is another freezing order for assets valued in 300 million dollars, everithing due to Exxon Mobil. Lawyers of the Venezuela Petrol Company has stated also that the hearing will be held since this wednesday, upon the Royal Court of Justice in London, and will last 3 days. Rafael Ramirez, Venezuelan minister of petrol and Energy, and president of PDVSA, has told us that the Exxon reaction has no precedents in the petrol relationship history. Venezuela has proposed Exxon to enter an arbitration upon the World Bank (Banco Mundial) and to live the judicial actions. Both parts have entered some arbitrations during 2007 upon the International Differences Arrangements (Centro Internacional de Arreglo de Diferencias Relativas a Inversiones (CIADI)) at the World Bank and the International Tribunal of Commerce, discussing compensations due to the ending of Exxon contracts in Venezuela and the nacionalisation of the Orinoco zone. "We have heard several messages coming from Exxon. Now we pursue to return to the formerly proposed situation." - stated the Minister. But Exxon didn´t agreed to be a minoritarian partnership and claimed a compensation of 5.000 million dollars, while PDVSA pretends that the value of the supposed damages is not more than the 750 million dollars, since 500 million dollars have been acquired as a debt of the Cerro Negro layer. -"They are wrong with us"- has sostained Ramirez, and he has stated that the Government will not come back in the country interests deffense. "We are not going to feel coward in front of them" - stated during a meeting supporting Venezuela, by petrol "zulian" workers in San Juana Shore. Ramirez reminded that since 2002, Venezuela had recovered 40 thousand million dollars. Meanwhile, Caracas government has declared that they will pay "ENI" a 700 million dollar compensation due to the nationalisation of certain field in 2006. ENI, as well as Exxon, has asked for an international arbitration against the country, after the nationalisation of the "DACION" petrol camp. Dacion would be under the total control of the Government, while Eni would continue to operate in the country with a 26 % participation in the PETROSUCRE mixed company, that works near Corocoro, with a 30 thousand barrels production per day. On the other hand the american petrol group CONOCO- PHILLIPS has been affected in its petrol savings, by the Venezuela decition to modify the contracts with foreign companies in the Orinoco. The Substitution rate related to the Conoco reserves, including some petrol demonstrated reserves, was reduced to a 29 %, according to some statistics published by the group. For Venezuela, the Exxon Mobil shares claim for more compensation. "Here we are trying just to clarify who is grasping the petrol rent"- said the PDVSA director. -"Before us, that rents belonged exclusively to American imperialism. Then, the national oligarchy, and now, is the PEOPLE of Venezuela. That is what they can´t forgive President Chavez. That is the main point of the whole thing". - Agencia Periodistica del Mercosur.
Traducción: Adela Pérez del Viso
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