Should We Worry About Chavez?
May 1st, 2007 by Grant in: Oil & GasToday Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez took control of Venezuela’s last foreign-controlled oilfields, situated in the Orinoco Belt, which could contain the biggest oil reserves in the world.
He basically came in and forced any U.S. oil producer out, however compensation for their assets is still being negotiated.
So what does this mean for us, and why should we care?
For one, I think Mr. Chavez is on some thin ice. He really doesn’t know what he’s up against, as it takes some serious money and advanced technical know-how to drill and produce oil in the vast depths of the Gulf of Mexico. The serious money he has, the advanced technical know-how is what he’s lacking.
Chavez needs U.S. oil companies for their technology and expertise. He could just be shooting himself in the foot by kicking them out.
Leave comments
Subscribe to Comments
Loading ...
May 2nd, 2007 at 10:54 am
Here’s hoping that happens, can’t stand him.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Should definitely make for interesting developments. All the more reason to wean ourselves off of foreign oil.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
America will definitely have a problem if he diverts supply to china and india (even though the US is a lot closer!).
global demand is growing exponentially while the supply isn’t growing to keep up.
May 30th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
Actually, I don’t see the diversion of oil from the US to China or India as a problem. Sure, it might sway the markets temporarily, and the price of oil might spike a bit. But lets face it, we’ve got more than one country we can import oil from.
Canada, are you listening?