Posted on 05/18/2006 11:41:02 PM PDT by MadIvan
Ecuador yesterday joined the wave of Latin American governments targeting foreign-owned industries when it fulfilled its threat against an American oil company and took "full technical control" of its operations.
The offices and installations of Occidental Petroleum were occupied by soldiers earlier this week, provoking a furious response by Washington.
But yesterday, a Petroecuador official announced: "We are in control of Occidental's technical operations."
State oil officials are expected to replace Occidental executives running oil fields in the Amazon region.
While the government of President Alfredo Palacio denied the seizure was part of a wider move to nationalise oil deposits in the Andean nation, the action follows a path blazed by the Leftist regimes in Venezuela and Bolivia.
Mr Palacio's government said that Occidental had violated the terms of its concession by selling part of its holdings to a Canadian firm in 2004 without Ecuador's approval.
Occidental is the largest foreign investor in Ecuador and had been pumping 100,000 barrels of oil a day from the affected field in the Amazon.
Denying that it had violated its contract, Occidental said that it had offered the government £569 million in disputed taxes, investments and extra revenues to try to end the dispute.
Well, not quite.
The world demands a lot of oil, well beyond what we use.
Even without us they'd still be selling it. Just not making nearly as much money in the process.
Bump!
Carolyn
I find it kind of ironic that this would happen. Especially in light of all of the American Companies that are sending their manufacturing overseas.
I know alot don't agree with me, but it would be justice in my opinion if the same began happening to some of THOSE companies as well.
where's teddy roosevelt when you need him?
I disagree. I think Venezuela is involved at some level, and they'll continue to pump oil just fine.
Oil is a rough business.
If you can't run with the big dogs,
stay on the porch.
Occidental Petroleum made a decision to invest in a Third World sh!t-hole, so let them deal with it. There's no reason why anyone here should feel bad for them when the obvious flaw in investing in Third World sh!t-holes becomes apparent.
I would also suggest that Occidental Petroleum is not necessarily "a U.S. company." If they are like most major publicly-traded companies (though I'm not even sure if they are publicly traded), then they are basically a multi-national corporation that has no allegience to the U.S. except when it suits them to call themselves "American."
Atlas will, predictably, shrug. Ayn Rand put the writing on the wall for all to see, on this, back in 1957.
China hit Al in the pocket book too. The red march continues...
This is what the left does. Whenever it sees an opportunity, it confiscates private property. The first dogma of communism is that private property is bad.
Don't feel secure about this. Leftism is rampant in the USA - leftists grab every opportunity to seize private property: "eminent domain" and the seizure of guns in New Orleans are just two examples.
Great tagline!! :o)
Ecuador?
Now there's a power house....
More to the point...can you say "Allende"?
And you know how it turned out for him....
It appears that Socialism is taking over South America. We could already see it in many of the illegals who participated in the demonstrations. Many of them wore Socialist shirts and carried signs glorifying Socialism. Nothing like granting amnesty to millions of Socialists.
I don't see Chinese retaliation as a problem here. Collusion, maybe, but not retaliation. Check out asymmetrical warfare sometime. Russia is flexing their energy hegemony as well. All the players are following the Marxist/Socialist model or are being aided by someone who is. Welcome to WWIV.
Palacio is a puppet of Chavez. Disturbing indeed.
I understand, but I respectfully disagree. Eucador didn't confiscate American Govt property - but property belonging to a globally-traded American company.
Govt confiscation of private property is the first, irretrievable step towards national ruin. Eucador, Venezuela, Bolivia are walking down the same track that has led Zimbabwe into the void. South America is falling into an abyss, and its all their own stupid fault. Starving refugees will be pouring into Mexico(!) for decades. The best thing we can do is make sure that history records the inimical effects of socialism first hand, so we can toss the lies of marxists back in their faces.
from his website:
As Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics Affairs, I have a responsibility to exercise oversight of U.S. policy toward Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada. It is a job I take very seriously. There is no denying that U.S. relations with Latin America are not as close as they could be. Despite efforts on all sides, distrust and misperceptions remain. I believe we have an opportunity to restore goodwill between the U.S. and our neighbors, based on cooperation and shared values. As someone who is both a pragmatist and an optimist, I believe I bring to this Subcommittee the proper perspective to seek out areas of cooperation on which to build ever-stronger ties within the hemisphere. Clearly it is in the U.S. interest that the other countries in our neighborhood are stable, prosperous, and democratic. It is therefore my intention as Subcommittee Chairman to do all I can to work with our neighbors to the south to encourage growth, political reform, and human rights. The benefits are for all Americans – North, Central, and South Americans alike.
http://coleman.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Initiatives.Detail&Initiative_id=5
Yeah, right. The evidence is quite to the contrary. Hugo Chavez is running amok in the southern Hemisphere. The US does nothing.
It seems Coleman likes the fancy titles on his resume, but not the living up to job description aspect of it.
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