Venezuela oil workers plan big protest after arrest

www.forbes.com Reuters, 02.20.03, 9:38 AM ET

CARACAS, Venezuela, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Rebel Venezuelan oil workers said they will stage protests Thursday outside offices and installations of state-oil firm PDVSA, following the overnight arrest of a strike leader on rebellion charges. The dissident oil workers -- 12,000 of whom have been fired by President Hugo Chavez -- were not planning to take over installations or occupy PDVSA offices, organizers said. The workers pegged output at 1.4 million barrels per day, compared with 3.1 million barrels before they launched a crippling strike on Dec. 2 meant to force Chavez from power. The government says output stands at more than 2 million bpd. Before the strike, Venezuela was the world's fifth largest oil exporter. The previously scheduled protest was expected to take on added momentum following the shock arrest of business chief and opposition leader Carlos Fernandez. Heavily armed police grabbed him at a restaurant in Caracas before bundling him into a car. Union chief Carlos Ortega, who spearheaded the two-month opposition strike started in December to try and oust Chavez, also faces a fresh arrest warrant for civilian rebellion, sabotage and other charges. Ortega has not been arrested. PDVSA officials at the port of Jose said Exxon Mobil Corp. > have begun loading cargo of Cerro Negro synthetic crude, marking the first crude loading by a foreign oil major since the early days of the strike. "We are loading the ship," said loading manager Rubin Rodriguez. He added that the port was secure with the national guard in place and he expected no trouble from strikers.