Chavez drives Venezuelan economy to brink of collapse

BrookesNews.Com ^ | 20 Feb. 2003

[Eva]

I heard that the tankers were sitting inoperable due to damage and blocking the docks, so no oil is leaving the PDVSA terminials. Some of the private terminials are still operable, though. Conoco has been getting about one tanker a day out.

[Eva]

That should have been one tanker a week, sorry. I am not awake yet.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bumps. I've heard Chavez is hiring supertankers.

[Eva]

No private company will allow their tankers to enter the ports in Venezuela due to lack of insurance. Conoco owns one dock of its own, so they are operating at that one dock.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

That's what I'd understood. So I wonder whose tankers. I'll go look to see if I can find that article.

Bump!

[Eva]

Not only are no private tanker companies operating down there, the docks are all blocked by the inoperable PDVSA tankers.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Feb 13, 2003 - Venezuela PdVSA Charters Supertanker [Full Text] CARACAS (Dow Jones)--In an effort to boost its current oil exports, Venezuela's state-owned oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela chartered a supertanker that will load two million barrels of Mesa crude Feb. 18 at the Jose terminal in eastern Venezuela, a terminal's loading manager said Thursday.

The tanker, the Hem Maersk, is the first in a line of up to seven or more supertankers that will be chartered by PdVSA to help increase exports and convince major shipping agencies that dock and terminal facilities are completely safe, Ruben Rodriguez told Dow Jones Newswires by telephone from Jose.

The loading of another two tankers with a capacity of one million barrels of Mesa crude each are scheduled for Feb. 22 to Feb. 24, and Feb. 24 to Feb. 26, Rodriguez said. Rodriguez couldn't provide the final destination of the three tankers.

An additional four or more tankers are set to be chartered in the coming weeks by PdVSA, Rodriguez added. At the terminal, 3.5 million barrels of crude and products have been shipped during the first 12 days of February as exports and production at the oil behemoth are recovering slowly after a strike started Dec. 2 last year. Production currently stands at around 40% of pre-strike levels of three million barrels per day.

Foreign shipping agencies have been reluctant to use Venezuelan ports after military personnel and untrained crew took control of the operations after the strike started. [End]