Yet another oil story...

tonyb

I know this has a 99% chance of turning political, but when I read stuff like this,my blood boils and lends me to take that 1% chance. After reading this,tell me what it reminds you of because to me anyway, is a glimpse of where we are headed. As a side note to this story, we the taxpayer lent a 15 billion dollar a year oil company,petrobas, 2 billion dollars who is drilling in Venezuela, at 3 times the depth of the Horizon,over 14,000 feet. Needless to say, a Mr. George Soros, good friend of our Prez,is a main investor in Petrobas. Which baffles me because we think 5,000 feet is too deep,but we will lend money to other people,a company that had 15 billion in profits, to drill 14,000 feet. Somethin's really smelly about all this. This story below is whats going on in Venezuala, but damn if it doesn't sound spooky as to what we are close to.




By Frank Jack Daniel Frank Jack Daniel – Thu Jun 24, 8:36 am ET
CARACAS (Reuters) –

Venezuela will nationalize a fleet of oil rigs belonging to U.S. company Helmerich and Payne, the latest takeover in a push to socialism as President Hugo Chavez struggles with lower oil output and a recession.

A former soldier inspired by Cuba's Fidel Castro, Chavez has made energy

nationalization the linchpin in his 'revolution'. He has also taken over assets in telecommunications, power, steel and banking.

The 11

drilling rigs have been idled for months following a dispute over pending payments by the OPEC member's state oil company PDVSA. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Wednesday the rigs, the Oklahoma-based company's entire Venezuelan fleet, were being nationalized to bring them back into production.

Ramirez said companies that refused to put their rigs into production were part of a plan to weaken Chavez's government,

"There is a group of

drill owners that has refused to discuss tariffs and services with PDVSA and have preferred to keep this equipment stored for a year," Ramirez told reporters in the oil producing state of Zulia. "That is the specific case with U.S. multinational Helmerich and Payne."

The company was not immediately available for comment.

Chavez, who faces legislative elections in September, often pushes ahead with radical plans during election campaigns.

The 55-year-old leader is having a hard time in his 11th year in power. Venezuela's economy is the worst performing in Latin America this year, a problem exacerbated by a drop in oil output since 2008, power outages and soaring inflation.

NO SURPRISE

The takeover of Helmerich and Payne's rigs was not a surprise, considering Chavez penchant for

nationalizations and the company's refusal to work before being paid the $49 million it has invoiced PDVSA.

Helmerich and Payne is a small player in the drilling industry, but global giants like

Halliburton, Schlumberger and Baker Hughes also have a presence in Venezuela.

Halliburton and Schlumberger have avoided public spats with the government.

Chavez has kept pressure up on the private sector in recent months, blaming a "parasitic bourgeoisie" for Venezuela's recession and 30 percent annualized inflation,

He has threatened to

nationalize Polar, the top brewer and food processor in the country of 30 million. The government has also seized a bank belonging to an owner of the leading opposition TV station and put an arrest warrant out for his partner, who is now on the run.

Chavez in 2007

nationalized multi-billion dollar projects in Venezuela's vast Orinoco oil region, persuading companies such as BP Plc, to accept minority stakes in facilities they had built.

Last year he ordered the takeover of dozens of smaller oil service companies as PDVSA, reeling from a sharp plunge in oil prices, struggled to pay contractors.

When he was flush with

oil cash during a boom in oil prices that ended in 2008, Chavez often compensated nationalized companies fairly, although the 2007 takeovers led to lawsuits from ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil.

More recently Venezuela has been slower in paying compensation.

dkg999

While I don't agree with the way Chavez nationalizes various industries at will, those companies had to know the risks going in and if they're on top of the local happenings then I think they would of maybe floated the rigs out to international waters.

BlueFox

South American countries seem to go in phases in regard to nationalizing various industries.

nooshinjohn

I don't think you guys understand what is happening here... It is not about nationalization.
What it is about is kickbacks, payoffs and hypocrisy. If we are going to stop drilling in 5 thousand feet of water, why are we giving TWO-Billion of our tax dollars to a company/country that will be doing it in 15 THOUSAND feet. If it is unsafe at 5k, certainly it is several orders of magintude more risky at 15K, don't you think?

Once those rigs leave for the deeper waters of South America, there will be a billion dollars and tens of thousands of American jobs LOST along our Gulf Coast, that has yet to recover from Katrina, much less this.

The policies and actions being taken by this regime are not in line with the values and interests of the American people. If we loose our Gulf Oil fields because the rigs have moved to Brazil, say hello to 7 buck a gallon gasoline...

What did a representative of this administration say before he went to work for George Soros?...

"Give THEM the WEALTH!!!"


What he meant to say was "Give HIM the wealth"...
Hold on to your wallets, because George isn't rich enough yet.

BottomFeeder

If I read it correctly, our country lent the coin BEFORE this mess in the gulf and thus BEFORE we (unofficially) realized that 5,000 feet is too deep.

nooshinjohn

You did read it correctly, but take the next step and ask WHY??? Then take a look at what is being done today and ask the same question. Most people won't do that because they fear the answer. People don't go to the doctor when they find a lump because they fear the test results.

It is time to start asking the hard questions while we still have the freedom to do so. It is not to late to set things right, but we need to start asking the hard questions now, and without fear of the answer.

thebluemonkey

Make your voice heard in November

BottomFeeder

I'm not afraid of asking "why?" The problem is that we are all too far removed from the scene to be able to find the accurate answer to the question. So many people today supply their own answers without knowing enough to do so.

nooshinjohn

BottomFeeder wrote: »

I'm not afraid of asking "why?" The problem is that we are all too far removed from the scene to be able to find the accurate answer to the question. So many people today supply their own answers without knowing enough to do so.

I am not picking on you man, but the the mentality displayed here is a large part of the problem as well.

Do your own homework. Use original sources for the facts. Using the Constitution as an example, don't read someone elses take on it. They will tell you it is outdated and meant for rich white guys that owned slaves. Read the document for yourself. The same goes for everything else out there. The truth opens up quickly if you look at any event as if you were investigating a crime scene. The BP spill is a fantastic example of this. While BP is made the scapegoat here, (yes, BP screwed up)our Government is using their own incompetent(criminal???) response to the disaster to pass laws(thankfully overturned by the courts) that advance an agenda rather that take action to mitigate the disaster. WHY???

The President uses the power his office to seize 20 Billion dollars of BP's money. This action is unprecidented in our nation's history... WHY? Is that not the role and juristiction of our court system? Why did he not use the power of his office to blow away all the red tape preventing actions to clean up this mess? Why did he not suspendl the Jones amendment that would have allowed foreign vessels into U.S. waters to assist in the containment and cleanup of this mess when it was still miles from our shores? Even the previous administration did so during Katrina.

It comes down to their beliefs...

"Under my version of a Cap and Trade System, energy costs would nessesarily SKYROCKET"

“You don’t ever want a crisis to go to waste; it’s an opportunity to do important things that you would otherwise avoid.”

"Give Them The Wealth! Give Them The Wealth!"

They believe America has to much... that you and I are the bad guys for having two cars and big screen TV's, and a decent home to put it all in. We are the problem in their eyes and while we are all focused on BP, they are doing all they can to advance their social and world-view right under our noses. I hesitatae to use the word communist to describe them, but if the shoe fits....

Read the following link and watch the video. Tell me if they has succeeded or not. Do not be afraid to answer truthfully and then ask "what's next".

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/922684/posts

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AQ7LcplfkgY&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AQ7LcplfkgY&hl=en_US&fs=1&&quot; type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

ohskigod

apparently I'm not the only Glenn Beck fan

nooshinjohn

ohskigod wrote: »

apparently I'm not the only Glenn Beck fan

Who the hell is that?:rolleyes::D

Funny thing is that I knew most of this stuff long before he did. Beck is an amateur that is still only scratching the surface. What lies underneath is far more troubling than even he knows. A forensic examination of history exposes everything.

ohskigod

yeah, he's diggin in and has a long road to travel, thats for sure. It's funny, I watched him cause I thought his emotional meltdowns were hilarious. Then I did my own fact checking.....sweet jesus he's right ALOT more often than not.

we taking odds when he will die in that "tragic car 'accident'"?