Andrei Kuzyayev, an executive of Russian oil giant Lukoil, told Reuters last week that Venezuela could boost its oil production in the next few years, but to do so needs “…a quiet situation, stability in contracts and a good situation for investment”.
Days later, Oil Minister/PDVSA President/Head of Mobilization for the Maduro Campaign Rafael Ramírez ordered Lukoil to be “left out of the country” until Kuzyayev’s “regrettable” remarks were clarified, warning that “nobody will dictate our oil policy”.
Stability in contracts? Good environment for investment? Asking for such things in the Chabolivarian Republic amounts to destabilization, even if you come from an allied country. Lukoil should’ve taken a page from fellow Russian oil company Rosneft, which is shrewdly keeping quiet.
Love it! Stability of contracts? Advice from a russian corporate?? Wow! Its like Khadaffi telling off Chavez for human right abuses
It still seems like a pretty brass move on Ramirez’s part – they must not depend too much on Lukoil?
The first thing I thought when I read this on Reuters: Why does Ramirez require clarification when he is providing examples of all three things that the Lukoil executive described? Was Ramirez sad that “arbitrary policy decisions” was left out?
Venezuela: The Lindsay Lohan of OPEC.
The phrase “pretty brass move” implies an underlying assumption of there being a place for logic in this whole matter: in some quarters, it may be argued that grounds for such reckless assumptions have heretofore proven difficult to detect.
What ever happened to good old fashioned honour among thieves?
Good old-fashioned “breaking new ground” might be a start.
“Stability in contracts? Good environment for investment? Asking for such things in the Chabolivarian Republic amounts to destabilization, even if you come from an allied country”
It’s not asking for such things that is accounted as desestabilization. It’s impliying that such things are not already implemented. Is like go to your friend’s house and telling that the house would be a little bit more comfortable if he clean up.
Good point.
It’s hardly implying that such things are not already implemented at all; it is saying outright that they aren’t implemented. Amost as a rule, in that ‘world unto itself’ whereof you speak, he who shall assert that statements of fact – virtually any manifestly verifiable fact – are deemed incompatible with the prevailing general thrust of policy will be on pretty solid ground. They say.
Venezuela…..a world unto itself.
This sort of article really screams for an explanation of the underlying story, as in, why is this Lukoil guy saying this at all? Sounds like the aftermath of a spat with the chavernment, or he is betting on a different horse.
Feo..that would be potentially a different burro.
As in, his money is on Capriles (or the juicy contracts are with Rosneft already), but maybe that is what you mean too….
The backstory is that after consistent and pervasive delays to the project due to shortfalls in capital and onsite expertise that should have been provided by PDVSA, Lukoil became really jittery about the agreement when PDVSA tried to get them to frontend more cash with promises to furnish more PDVSA cash on the backend. Another situation of, “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today….”
Or so a little bird told me.
There’s a lot of talk in this blog about how inept Maduro is yadayadaya and sure, lots of examples if you just follow news in Venezuela (and the trickles that make it abroad). But what is your take on the likelihood of his being more moderate and friendly to the private sector and the rule of law than Chavez, ignoring all current political intrigue related to the coming election. The international press is heralding him as a probable step forward relative to Chavez.
Personally, I doubt he will be a moderate. That ship has sailed.
Ah,…..no. The idea that Maduro might be more ‘moderate’ toward the private sector than Chavez is completely false. Maduro might even be ‘more hard-line’ than anyone yet seen on the South American political landscape. Just stick around and watch!
The guy got training in Cuba and has been tight with Chavez from day 1 so I understand how farfetched that is. But the point the foreign press keeps on making is that his experience negotiating for the union has made him more “flexible”.
Every day that’s gone by since “himself” died, I think that even García Márquez could never have come up with some of the “magical” shit that goes on, day after day after day…
Ramirez is THE cancer of PDVSA. Nepotism to the max…Parada, Sanso, etc. He has no skills whatsoever to provide leadership on safety, efficiency and resulting production. They set unrealistic ‘metas’ but do not have a clue on how to achieve them….then blame everyone else. Loan deal with Chevron is a key signpost on whether new government can attract western investment and follow the rules to maintain it.
Need to give him one of those cancer shots…and Cristina, and Fidel.
Keep it classy, Lobo.