Posted on 03/14/2006 2:27:09 PM PST by antaresequity
14/03/2006 23:16 >>
DJ Venezuela To Charge Oil Majors 50% Tax On Orinoco Crude
CARACAS (Dow Jones)--
Venezuela will hike the tax rate on international oil firms operating in the Orinoco river basin to 50% after pushing a legal reform through the National Assembly, Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Tuesday. "There is no doubt that the oil companies in the Orinoco oil belt have to pay 50% income tax," said Ramirez on the sidelines of meeting between President Hugo Chavez and his Uruguayan counterpart, Tabare Vazquez. "A reform to the existing law is justified," he added. Chavez''s ruling coalition controls all 167 seats in the National Assembly, guaranteeing swift approval of any legislation presented by his economic cabinet.
Ramirez first announced plans to hike the income tax on Orinoco projects in mid-2005, but the Oil Ministry still hasn''t drafted the legal reforms that must go through Congress toimplement the tax increase. In 2004 Venezuela hiked the royalty on Orinoco production to 16.67% from 1%, arguing that the 1% tax holiday was granted during a period of low world oil prices.
Oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), Chevron Corp. (CVX), BP PLC (BP), ConocoPhillips (COP), Total (TOT) and Statoil (STO) have stakes in Orinoco ventures. The projects, four in total, collectively pump around 600,000 barrels a day of tar oil, which is converted into synthetic crude at special upgrading facilities, accounting for around a fifth of Venezuela''s total oil production. The projects were designed under low oil price scenarios in the 1990s, and the price boom in recent years prompted the Chavez administration to hike royalties in 2004.
PdVSA has teamed up with foreign companies from Iran, Spain, Russia and other countries to calculate oil reserves in the Orinoco, the first step toward launching new projects. Venezuela says it currently holds over 200 billion barrels of reserves in the area. Concerning a possible income tax increase on natural gas production, Ramirez said the ministry has not taken a decision yet.
Natural gas producers currently pay a 34% income tax rate, but tax officials have said this could be lifted to 50%. "We have to see," said Ramirez. "It''s a public service." Companies such as Chevron and Statoil have begun massive offshore natural gas development projects in Venezuela under the assumption they would be paying a 34% tax rate.
-Peter Millard, Dow Jones Newswires; 58-212-564-1339; peter.millard@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires 14-03-06 2216GMT Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Venezuela already tried this about twenty years ago, IIRC. Oil production went to almost zero and they had to invite the oil companies back in...
Russia may have more crude than the Saudis, but they cannot bring it into production because of the lack of expertice. That is just who Venezuela needs to team up with...
I still remember the engineers I worked with coming back from Russia after being asked "what the leak allowance" was on a pipe line they were running in Russia. LOL! When they told the Russian contractor he had to pressure test the pipe and have NO leaks he told them that was impossible!
We allow humanitarian aid to Cuba.
"[Insert developing country name here] will hike the tax rate on international firms operating in special economic zones. New rate will be 50% of value of goods and services exported to firms' home countries for sale to consumers. Other developing countries serving developed countries' consumers to hike taxes also. . .
"Not a trade matter says WTO. 'It will bring social and economic justice for developing nations' poor and low-wage workers,' says WTO official. Sustainable Development and Social Justice guidelines adopted by the Davos 'Third Way' Round of negotiations resulted in expanded responsibility for WTO beyond tariffs and trade. . . ."
Chevez makes the same mistake other Third World oil producers make: their oil is no good to them unless they can sell it to the West.
In an economic war I believe the U. S. could win out over Chevez. CITCO is Venesuzla's retail outlet in the U.S.
Hugo will, in the future, be known as the dumb a$$ who killed the goose that layed the golden eggs.....................in the meantime, the leftists will hold him in higher esteem than their own Commander in Chief in time of war..........
"Chevez makes the same mistake other Third World oil producers make: their oil is no good to them unless they can sell it to the West."
Tell that to the Chinese.
50% is probably a little high, but oil produced in the US is probably taxed at that rate by the time the various proliferate levels of Gummint each take their cut.
Perhaps you ought to first ask what are the moral considerations for invading a sovereign country that's not threatening our own?
Apparently Mr Chavez has already had an effect. Gasoline shot up 15 cents from 1800 to 0100 in my local area.
Go on - justify an invasion of Venezuela. Do it.
Don't like Venezuela's prices? Shop elsewhere. Don't get mad and act like Hitler, invading every country in sight.
And I said you want to act like Hitler, invading other countries to steal their assets. Hitler did that for no reason other than he was evil; I'm still waiting to hear your lame excuse for invading Venezuela.
I think you intentionally chose to make the Hitler comparison because you were responding to Yehuda, who is Jewish. I think it was tacky on your part, to say the least, but not unexpected. You really need to clean up your act. And when you are paying $20 for a gallon of gas, and Hugo Chavez is sitting on a nuclear weapon aimed at the U.S., we'll ask you again how you feel about "invading" Venezuela.
I am apoplectic over this sabre-rattling Marxist lunatic, awash in oil bucks, building a huge military, and sucking up to Iran and other evil-doers.
I just heard a report on the BBC about how New England politicians are all ~~praising~~ this slimball because of his extremely cynical move of spending a few million bucks to offer cheap, Citgo heating oil to poor Americans. And we have governors praising this! OMG
I just added a couple of posts on this topic to an old thread, "No, gracias, Hugo: Give Citgo the heave-ho" before I saw this thread. (There were a couple of really stupid comments on that thread trying to deflect concern about this a_hole. I jumped on'em a bit but not in the vicious, insulting way that I really wanted, too...bad Freeper etiquette and all that.)
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