Snag in PDVSA-US Free Market Petroleum crude distribution contract?

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Wednesday, May 14, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and the US Free Market Petroleum Co have signed a contract to sell crude in the United States of America (USA) , broken down into $55 million barrels over a three-year period, which would represent just 8% of US reserves. 

Invoicing is estimated between $1-1.4  billion and the snag is that Venezuela will have to pay for the transport. 

Free Market Petroleum Co has been created exclusively to solve the new PDVSA marketing problem and is seen as a consequence of the opposition PDVSA executives & managers decision to use Venezuela's oil industry as a political tool to topple the Chavez Frias administration. 

Under the new setup, it is the Energy & Mines (MEM) Ministry that has turned into broker, which Minister Rafael Ramirez calls "a necessary change of paradigm." 

PDVSA is represented in the current contract by questioned official Ramon Guilarte and Juan Jose Ahumada, while Free Market Holdings is represented by William Hickman, Adrian Nash and Arturo Sarmiento, whose HQ is registered at suite 2110, Rockefeller Center NY. 

The original contract was signed on January 17 in the middle of the national strike/stoppage and corrected on January 23 after clarifying that Venezuela would pay transport, customs and port charges and Free Market Holdings pilot navigation charges.