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.
Not when the Rep. controlled House decides to keep the ban on off-shore drilling!!!
You are correct.
algore is NOT going to like this. He owns a ton of OP!
LLS
President George Bush responded by.... Gee, what DID old Georgie say? What will Tony Snow say? Don't hold your breath.
I was thinking the same thing. LOL! Al is going to be mighty ticked! LOL!
"Is that a crash helmet?".
"Oh, I hope not!".
I'm sure the state can provide tractors, combines, and fertilizer. :-)
Yes, it is a bit of wishful thinking on my part. So I suppose it is up to the U.S. to protect its interests and in the very least not to do the dumb thing again.
They would have a branch office organized under State (maybe several states and several branch offices) corporation law, which would be the very small American part of the company.
It they are going to take it then we should bomb it.
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