Energy News  
Analysis: Venezuela oil row over rights

disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only
by Carmen Gentile
Miami (UPI) Oct 3, 2007
A recent clash between Venezuelan oil workers and authorities has prompted Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez to assure the workers that a new contract will be completed in the coming weeks despite the fact that the negotiations have been ongoing since April.

Ramirez, who is also the head of the state-run petroleum company PDVSA, said the government is not against the workers but is rather working toward improving the agreement that is mutually beneficial.

"We are working for an agreement that is good for workers and good for the state," Ramirez said following last week's unrest.

Last Thursday ire over the delayed agreement erupted into violence when workers from two different refineries tried to present Ramirez with a document listing their demands and were intercepted by police in Anzoategui state.

Three workers were reportedly injured in clashes with police and 40 others arrested, according to local news reports.

PDVSA issued a statement saying it would investigate the incident and condemned the violence perpetuated by both sides.

Critics of Ramirez and the Venezuelan state oil company say the government is trying to dissolve the hundreds of oil workers unions in hopes of creating a unified federation that would ultimately weaken the bargaining power of the labor force operating the country's most lucrative export.

In the aftermath of the Anzoategui incident, Ramirez said oil workers would receive increased salaries and other benefits; however, other demands by the workers in last week's clash would have to be evaluated on a point-by-point basis.

Workers said that protests could continue until their final agreement is hammered out in the coming weeks.

This is the first time the energy minister has been at the center of a firestorm over his handling of PDVSA.

In August, Ramirez was fined for instructing PDVSA to support President Hugo Chavez.

Venezuela's National Election Council fined Ramirez nearly $9,000 for telling employees that it would be a "counterrevolutionary act" not to support the leftist Chavez.

Ramirez's remarks, caught on videotape, were reportedly made ahead of the December 2006 presidential election, which Chavez won handily.

The PDVSA president is also accused of telling employees that a colleague had already lost his jobs for what was deemed a traitorous act against Chavez.

Ramirez denied any wrongdoing and insisted he didn't break Venezuelan laws that stipulate state-run agencies like PDVSA cannot back any one candidate.

Some experts say Ramirez's recent actions illustrate his and Chavez's quest to wrest full control of the sector.

"There are strong concerns (in the United States) that some employees at PDVSA are getting higher positions in PDVSA because of their professed loyalty to Chavez," David Pumphrey, a senior energy fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington, told United Press International.

Meanwhile, the majority of revenue from the continent's largest oil and gas reserves is going towards funding Chavez's wide-ranging social programs, with little being spent to maintain and improve PDVSA's existing infrastructure, Pumphrey added.

Concerns about the long-term health of PDVSA come at a time when Chavez has sought to take full control of the Venezuelan petroleum sector.

In August, Ramirez announced the country was keen on creating its own "Halliburton" to develop the country's fields and reduce dependency on foreign firms.

"We can have our own Halliburton, ours, the Bolivarian one," said the PDVSA head, referring to Simon Bolivar, the 19th century general who helped several Latin American countries win independence, including Venezuela.

Venezuela's pledge to improve its oil production follows a recent report that Latin America's largest oil producer was suffering from equipment shortages responsible for waning production levels.

In July, Luis Vierma, exploration and production vice president at PDVSA, said Venezuelan oil faces a "significant operational emergency" if it does not increase the number of rigs operating in the country and that the state firm fell short of its 2007 goal of getting 191 rigs online in 2007 and producing some 3.3 million barrels per day.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Analysis: Iraqi Kurds sign new oil deals
Washington (UPI) Oct 2, 2007
Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government made a sudden but not unexpected announcement Tuesday it had signed four more controversial oil deals. While the move highlights success in the region, it comes as the central government in Baghdad struggles to meet long-term agenda items like a national oil law.







  • New PowerSecure Subsidiary Helps Grocery Chains Reduce Energy Consumption
  • ING To Power All US Operations With Wind Power
  • Lomonosov Ridge Could Bring Russia 5 Billion Tons Of Extra Fuel
  • Analysis: Venezuela oil row over rights

  • Candidates line up to build Romanian nuclear plant
  • Baltics, Poland could sign nuclear deal next week: Lithuanian PM
  • France's EDF aims to build first nuclear plant in US in 2015
  • Scottish police arrest more than 170 anti-nuclear protestors

  • Ocean Oxidation Preceded First Great Rise In Atmospheric Oxygen
  • Argon Provides Atmospheric Clues
  • Volcanoes Key To Earth's Oxygen Atmosphere
  • Invisible Gases Form Most Organic Haze In Both Urban And Rural Areas

  • Amazon Forest Shows Unexpected Resiliency During Drought
  • Cheung Yan: Dragon queen of waste paper
  • Age shall not wither them: Earth's oldest trees
  • Refugia Of The Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest Could Be The Basis For Its Regeneration

  • High cereal prices may fuel problems in poor areas: FAO chief
  • Signature campaign in Italy against genetic engineering
  • Feeding The World Without Genetic Engineering
  • Joint Venture To Strengthen Cotton Breeding

  • High-Performance Motorised Wheelchairs
  • Toyota says new fuel-cell car can go further on single tank
  • Envision Solar To Provide NREL With Solar Tree For Renewable Recharge Station
  • China's Chery group matures into global auto player

  • MEPs seek limits on aircraft emissions by 2010
  • New Delft Material Concept For Aircraft Wings Could Save Billions
  • Aircraft And Automobiles Thrive In Hurricane-Force Winds At Lockheed Martin
  • Cathay Pacific chief hits out at anti-aviation critics

  • Nuclear Power In Space - Part 2
  • Nuclear Power In Space
  • Outside View: Nuclear future in space
  • Could NASA Get To Pluto Faster? Space Expert Says Yes - By Thinking Nuclear

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement