Venezuela seeks security agenda at Opec as states fear US colonisation

June 17, 2003 By <a href=www.busrep.co.za>Reuters Doha - Opec could be forgiven for feeling a touch of paranoia.

Iraq, where it was born in 1960, has been invaded and occupied by the US, and Washington hawks are now calling for "regime change" in Iran, another founder member.

Venezuela blames America for backing a failed coup last year, and some in the Pentagon question the US alliance with Saudi Arabia, the linchpin of the oil cartel.

Opec has remained silent in the face of the growing threat to its members, confining debate to the price of its oil.

Until now, that is.

Venezuela, under the leadership of President Hugo Chavez, has put sovereignty back on the agenda at a recently revived, long-term strategy meeting.

"We need to emphasise that the world has left behind the colonial era, when one power could take by force another country's resources," Venezuelan energy minister Rafael Ramirez told reporters after last week's ministerial meeting in Doha, Qatar.

"There are several countries which could feel threatened."

The proposal is some way from becoming policy of the group that supplies half of world oil exports, and is unlikely to lead to any immediate threat to supplies. But the idea of tightening Opec's grip over two-thirds of the world's oil reserves, and seeking to avoid military attack, has awakened interest from members.

"It is a serious concern that Opec members will become occupied by foreign powers," said a delegate from another member of the 11-country group.

Opec made its name in the 1970s by nationalising Western-controlled oil firms in their countries and forcing the industrialised world to pay more for oil.

But Western capital has been creeping back into Opec since the 1980s, while the US, anxious to secure cheap supply, has increased its military and political influence in key members Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and recently Iraq .

Under Saudi leadership Opec has traded revolutionary rhetoric for talk of partnership with the West, but some in the cartel think the scale has tipped too far in favour of Washington and see the war on Iraq as a bad omen.

"The US can't continue to invent wars. We want a deal with the world powers - we will supply oil and gas, but you can't invade my country. After Iraq, who is next?" said an Opec delegate, asking not to be named.

Venezuela's proposal is to link the Opec principle of security of oil supply to the national security of Opec nations.

If approved by Opec ministers, it would be tabled at a heads of state summit in 2005.

Some delegates believe that unless Opec reasserts sovereignty over its natural resources, it could be destroyed by a resurgent US foreign agenda, combined with the financial power of four "supermajor" oil firms.

The discussion could be welcomed by Iran and Libya, which are under US sanctions, but Saudi Arabia excludes politics from Opec debates.

Given the Washington climate, a more political Opec agenda could fuel critics who see the cartel as an instrument of economic warfare against the only superpower.

"We are trying not to let this get too political," said a delegate from a pro-US member.

Venezuelan Opec officials believe that country's foreign investment experience in the 1990s, and what it sees as a US hand behind last year's coup attempt, could be repeated all over Opec.

South America's leading oil producer, which has hiked its royalty rate to 30 percent, has proposed that Opec establish a minimum royalty rate across the group, but many Opec states have agreed to discounts to attract Western capital. - Reuters