Venezuela urges OPEC to follow nationalist lead

by Barbara Lewis
VIENNA
Venezuela urged fellow OPEC members on Tuesday to follow its lead in exerting full sovereignty over its oil and said foreign investment was welcome, but only if it did not clash with national interests.

The government of leftist President Hugo Chavez has launched a broad effort to boost government revenue and increase state control over energy operations in the world's No 5 oil exporter, helping to spur a global wave of natural resource nationalism.

It has overhauled its national oil company PdVSA and introduced increasingly tough measures against foreign operators, including tax hikes and renegotiation of contracts.

"This process is at the disposition of other oil producing countries, our brothers, as a contribution to the strengthening of our respective national policies for the control and defence of our oil," Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez told an OPEC conference of policymakers and international oil executives.

"After all, our own policy of full sovereignty over oil draws its inspiration from the principles that gave rise to the foundation and growth of OPEC," he said.

PdVSA in its old form, he said, had been a veritable Trojan Horse and an unexpected ally of an anti-nationalist strategy.

Foreign oil companies were welcome to work with the new PdVSA, but under certain conditions.

Foreign capital would be very welcome, he said, but only as long as it accepts "without reservations the legitimacy of our own aspiration for a proper remuneration for every barrel of this non-renewable and depletable natural resource."