Chavez seizes foreign owned oil service firms using military

[pnutbutr]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8041366.stm

"Military vehicles were used as the state oil company seized supply boats and two US-owned gas facilities....

Mr Chavez nationalised Venezuela's main oil assets two years ago. The fresh drive comes as falling oil prices put state finances under pressure.

The move places hundreds of boats, several ports and an estimated 8,000 oil workers under state control.

The state-owned oil company PDVSA has recently clashed with foreign and local service providers over the prices they charge.

The service companies are owed billions of dollars by PDVSA. But the state firm says lower oil prices mean the contractors are being paid too much."




I give Venezuela a couple more years at most before the collapse.

[Joanne98]

1. YAY! Go Hugo!

[pnutbutr]

2. sarcasm I hope

[leftstreet]

3. Good for him! When do we nationalize our banks?

:shrug:

[pnutbutr]

4. more sarcasm I hope

[bemildred]

5. If only someone would take on the oil companies here. nt

[pnutbutr]

6. It's not the oil companies

He has already nationalized all the oil companies. What he has done now is take over by force the companies that provide services to PDVSA such as distribution because the nationalized PDVSA owes these companies billions of dollars which it doesn't have due to lower oil prices and the vast expansion of the government under Chavez's socialist dream of everything from oil, steel, concrete, banks and even supermarkets.

[David__77]

7. What? "Big government?" Oh my god! NOOOOO!

I mean, cause small government and free markets will save us from the socialist nightmare promoted by the likes of Obama and Chavez??? lol...

[pnutbutr]

8. you really

don't understand what Chavez is doing. Obama is not a socialist, not even close and the fact that you think he is says a lot.

[chrisa]

9. Go Chavez!

All real Democratic leaders use the military to overrun legitimate companies.

[Sebastian Doyle]

10. Since when is there anything "legitimate" about the oil industry?

Only the "defense" industry and tobacco companies can compete with oil for the title of "most corrupt bastards on the planet".

[pnutbutr]

11. Thay aren't oil companies

:eyes: