Posted on 02/27/2003 4:18:25 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
WASHINGTON - Top State Department officials told a delegation of Venezuelans that political disruptions have created serious doubts about the country's reliability as an oil supplier, an administration official said.
They called on the Venezuelan government and the opposition to negotiate a settlement to their differences, Charles Barclay, spokesman for the State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, said Wednesday.
The officials passed the message to Energy and Mines Minister Rafael Ramirez and the president of the Venezuelan state oil company, Ali Rodriguez.
The Venezuelan delegation was told that the way for the country to restore its reputation as a reliable oil supplier is for the government and the opposition to reach agreement on a "constitutional, democratic, peaceful and electoral solution," Barclay said.
The U.S. officials also urged that the parties work with Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria, who has tried in vain to promote a settlement.
Wednesday's meeting occurred three days after Chavez assailed Gaviria for speaking out about the detention of a strike leader, saying his comments were "totally out of place."
He also criticized State Department spokesman Richard Boucher for saying last week that Washington was concerned that the detention could hinder peace talks.
"Gentlemen of Washington ... we don't meddle in your internal affairs," Chavez said. "Why does a spokesman have to come out and say they are worried? No, that is Venezuela's business."
Venezuela has been a leading source of U.S. oil imports, accounting last year for about 1.5 million barrels a day. Most analysts place part of the blame for the low supplies of crude and petroleum products in the United States on the loss of Venezuelan oil imports.
A general strike that was called in December as a protest against Chavez paralyzed the oil industry for a time and devastated the national economy. Oil production has recovered somewhat in recent weeks but is still well below normal.
Venezuela's Lifeblood Ebbs Even as It Flows*** "We believe the company's role in Venezuela society has been permanently altered," a recent Deutsche Bank report said. Assuming average daily production of 1.7 million barrels for 2003, the bank estimated that oil revenue would reach only $14.1 billion, down nearly 50 percent from 2001. The government is already preparing for the worst. The 2003 budget for the oil company was cut by $2.7 billion, to about $6 billion, while the income the government draws from oil is forecast by UBS Warburg to fall from $11.5 billion in 2002 to as little as $5 billion in 2003. The drop will make it especially difficult to raise the $5 billion the company would have spent to keep production steady.
Alí Rodríguez, the former leftist guerrilla turned president of Petróleos de Venezuela, does not gloss over the obstacles. But in an interview, Mr. Rodríguez said the doomsday predictions originated with dissident executives who hoped to undermine international confidence in the oil company to weaken Mr. Chávez. He predicted that through sharp budget and personnel cuts, the company would reach 3.1 million barrels a day. And "with its resources," he said, "it is perfectly possible that it will even surpass that level." To be sure, the Petróleos de Venezuela now emerging will be a far different company, in both its management and philosophy.***
Funding Al Qaeda IS meddling in our internal affairs.
Besides those obvious considerations, if our Middle Eastern initiatives were oil-centered, we'd have kept Kuwait as spoils of war in 1991, no?
Freedom, Wealth, and Peace,
Francis W. Porretto
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