Caracas Daily Journal (Jeremy Morgan): The state oil corporation, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), has started taking counter-measures following court rulings in the United States and Britain putting a stay on its assets, amid threats that Venezuela would carry out President Hugo Chávez' threat to halt shipments to its biggest oil export market.
PDVSA is reported to have opened accounts at banks in Switzerland to circumvent the freeze ordered in New York and London. The corporation made it quite clear it was also preparing to contest the rulings, which Oil Minister and PDVSA President Rafael Ramírez has dismissed as temporary or initial actions.
Talk of counter-litigation was also in the air, on the basis that ExxonMobil, which sought and obtained the rulings in both cities, had not fulfilled the terms of its agreements with PDVSA in the Orinoco Basin. ExxonMobil abandoned the deal after refusing to hand over a majority stake in two projects, Cerro Negro and La Ceiba.
Legal observers said that a court case involving ExxonMobil and a counter-action by PDVSA could take years to resolve. In the meantime, as a result of the London ruling, PDVSA's financial transactions could be subject to funds being seized at the behest of that British court, they added.
While the New York ruling applies only to the seizure of $300 million in PDVSA funds in the United States, the decision in London referrs to assets valued at $12 billion and theoretically applies to the entire world. Ramírez denies PDVSA holds assets worth that much in the United Kingdom.
Financial analysts pointed to Switzerland's tradition of political neutrality and its reputation as a financial haven, and said it was highly unlikely that a Swiss court would go along with the joint Anglo-American action. "PDVSA can go on trading, providing funds going to or from it don't go anywhere near an American or British bank," commented a foreign economist in Caracas, asking to remain nameless.
In the meantime, it was suggested that the United States could turn to Canada or Brazil as sources of alternative oil supplies to replace shipments from Venezuela in the event of the threat to halt shipments being put into action.
While there was little doubt about Canada cooperating, speculation focused on the likely attitude in Brazil. President Inacio Lula da Silva is an ally of Venezuela in the Latin American context, but doesn't always see eye-to-eye with Chávez. In addition, Brazil has recently discovered massive offshore oil reserves and harbors ambitions of breaking into oil export nations and even becoming a member of OPEC.
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While the anglo-american imperialists are slinging mud around in every direction these days, they are in fact steadily losing ground. And it appears that this international anglo oligarchy has decided that brute military force will have to be used to shore up their decline as world economic hegemons, if they are to avoid a complete fall.
ReplyDeleteBut I think the rest of the planet has already made up their minds about the future course of events and of world commerce. And it doesn't involve being dictated-to by this Old World Order.