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Ecuador seizes control of US oil company
The Daily Telegraph ^ | May 19, 2006 | Jeremy McDermott

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.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ecuador; energy; nationalisation; occidental; occidentalpetroleum; oil; socialism
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To: TheLion

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.


21 posted on 05/19/2006 1:13:50 AM PDT by DB (©)
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To: MadIvan

Bump!


22 posted on 05/19/2006 1:55:23 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: MadIvan
Almost sounds like Mugabe, except it's oil companies instead of farms.

Carolyn

23 posted on 05/19/2006 2:01:11 AM PDT by CDHart ("It's too late to work within the system and too early to shoot the b@#$%^&s."--Claire Wolfe)
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To: MadIvan

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.


24 posted on 05/19/2006 2:08:50 AM PDT by Leatherneck_MT (An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens.)
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To: sourcery

where's teddy roosevelt when you need him?


25 posted on 05/19/2006 2:31:04 AM PDT by johnboy
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To: BJungNan

I disagree. I think Venezuela is involved at some level, and they'll continue to pump oil just fine.


26 posted on 05/19/2006 2:35:08 AM PDT by ovrtaxt (My donation to the GOP went here instead: http://www.minutemanhq.com/hq/index.php)
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To: MadIvan

Oil is a rough business.
If you can't run with the big dogs,
stay on the porch.


27 posted on 05/19/2006 2:41:26 AM PDT by greasepaint
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To: sourcery
I don't see why the U.S. has any reason to do ANYTHING in response to this.

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."

28 posted on 05/19/2006 2:49:17 AM PDT by Alberta's Child (Can money pay for all the days I lived awake but half asleep?)
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To: BJungNan

Atlas will, predictably, shrug. Ayn Rand put the writing on the wall for all to see, on this, back in 1957.


29 posted on 05/19/2006 3:09:01 AM PDT by FreedomPoster (Guns themselves are fairly robust; their chief enemies are rust and politicians) (NRA)
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To: MadIvan
I went to CNN immediately after reading this. I thought surely it would be front page news, after all.

Nary a syllable on the matter.
30 posted on 05/19/2006 3:12:10 AM PDT by Glenn (Annoy a BushBot...Think for yourself.)
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To: AmeriBrit
Occidental ......that's going to hit Al Gore in the pocket book.

China hit Al in the pocket book too. The red march continues...

31 posted on 05/19/2006 3:18:44 AM PDT by sayfer bullets
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To: MadIvan

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.


32 posted on 05/19/2006 3:20:15 AM PDT by BooksForTheRight.com (what have you done today to fight terrorism/leftism (same thing!))
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To: AmeriBrit

Great tagline!! :o)


33 posted on 05/19/2006 3:51:56 AM PDT by NRA2BFree (CONGRESS, YOU BUILD THE FENCE NOW, OR WE'LL VOTE FOR LAWMAKERS WHO WILL!)
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To: MadIvan

Ecuador?

Now there's a power house....


34 posted on 05/19/2006 3:54:32 AM PDT by dakine
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To: BJungNan

More to the point...can you say "Allende"?

And you know how it turned out for him....


35 posted on 05/19/2006 3:57:33 AM PDT by tcostell (MOLON LABE)
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To: MadIvan

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.


36 posted on 05/19/2006 3:58:16 AM PDT by NRA2BFree (CONGRESS, YOU BUILD THE FENCE NOW, OR WE'LL VOTE FOR LAWMAKERS WHO WILL!)
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To: Zhang Fei

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.


37 posted on 05/19/2006 4:01:15 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly.)
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To: MadIvan

Palacio is a puppet of Chavez. Disturbing indeed.


38 posted on 05/19/2006 4:18:45 AM PDT by prairiebreeze (God bless our fine military and their families.)
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To: sourcery
All assets in the US of that government should be seized. Any US government bonds in its Treasury should be declared null and void. Any airliners, ships, or trucks from that country that enter US territory should be seized.

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.

39 posted on 05/19/2006 4:23:08 AM PDT by agere_contra
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To: MadIvan
Folks may want to ak Sentor Norm Coleman why Latin America is tanking on his watch.

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.

40 posted on 05/19/2006 4:28:10 AM PDT by dropzone
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