Oferta de petróleo aumentará até que a Venezuela retome produção Viena, 9 - O aumento da produção estudado pela Organização de Países Exportadores de Petróleo (Opep) poderá entrar em vigor a partir do próximo mês, e só vai durar enquanto a produção venezuelana estiver paralisada. ''É provável que o aumento seja efetivo a partir de 1 de fevereiro, mas será condicional, ou seja, suspenso se a Venezuela retomar sua produção''. A afirmação é de uma fonte do secretariado da Opep em Viena. Outros membros da organização disseram que os produtores de petróleo poderão pactuar, no próximo domingo e numa reunião ministerial de urgência, um aumento da oferta entre um e 2 milhões de barris diários. A Opep teme, no entanto, que o preço desabe se este aumento da produção não for suspenso no momento em que a Venezuela, o quinto maior exportador de petróleo do mundo, voltar a enviar seu petróleo ao mercado internacional. Desde o início da greve geral na Venezuela, há mais de um mês, a companhia estatal Petróleos da Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) deixou de produzir cerca de dois milhões de barris de petróleo por dia. O secretário-geral da Opep, o venezuelano Alvaro Silva Calderón, disse ontem que o cartel reconhece a necessidade de uma reação aos problemas que o mercado enfrenta pela falta de petróleo venezuelano e o medo diante de uma possível guerra no Iraque. ''Estamos em uma situação difícil porque o mercado foi atingido por uma série de fatores nos quais nós não podemos influenciar'', afirmou Silva Calderón. O ex-ministro venezuelano de Energia e Minas reiterou que a Opep continua defendendo a faixa de oscilação de preços entre US$ 22 e US$ 28 - em vigor desde março de 2000 pelo barril de petróleo de 159 litros. De acordo com este sistema, os dez membros da Opep que participam da divisão de cotas de produção - todos menos o Iraque - devem reduzir juntos a oferta em pelo menos meio milhão de barris diários se seu barril for vendido a menos de US$ 22 durante dez dias úteis consecutivos, e devem aumentá-la na mesma quantidade quando ficar cotada acima dos US$ 28 durante vinte dias. Nas últimas duas semanas, o preço subiu quase 25% e está acima dos US$ 30. O secretariado da Opep confirmou hoje que apesar da importância da reunião do próximo domingo, os ministros de Petróleo e Energia do Kuwait, Iraque e Indonésia não irão à capital austríaca. Não foi confirmada a presença do ministro de Petróleo e Minas da Venezuela, Rafael Ramírez, que devido à grave crise em seu país já não pôde ir na última reunião ministerial da Opep, realizada no último dia 12 de dezembro em Viena. Fonte: JB Online

Petrobras diz que não recebeu pedido de ajuda à Venezuela Rio, 9 - A Petrobras informou por meio de sua assessoria de imprensa que ainda não recebeu da Presidência um pedido formal para auxiliar a estatal venezuela de petróleo PDVSA. A companhia está paralisada por uma greve que dura mais de um mês. De acordo com informações publicadas ontem pela Folha de S.Paulo, o governo do presidente da Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, apresentou ao governo brasileiro um novo pedido de ajuda. Chávez quer navios, gasolina e pessoal especializado para trabalhar na PDVSA, o que possibilitaria à estatal retomar um nível razoável de produção de petróleo. O governo Lula se mostra disposto a aceitar a solicitação. "A palavra final está dada: vamos ajudar", disse Marco Aurélio Garcia, assessor de Lula, conforme revelou a Folha de S.Paulo. Em dezembro, ainda no governo FHC, a Petrobras enviou uma carga de gasolina à PDVSA. Segundo a estatal brasileira, não foi uma doação. O produto foi vendido a preço de mercado. A PDVSA é a maior companhia da Venezuela e uma das principais exportadoras de óleo e derivados do mundo. É dona também de uma grande rede de postos nos Estados Unidos. Fonte: Folha de S.Paulo

Governo reestrutura PDVSA e tenta normalizar indústria petroleira CARACAS, 8 - O governo da Venezuela está promovendo a reestruturação da estatal PDVSA dentro de seus esforços para normalizar a indústria petroleira, gravemente afetada pela greve geral que vive o país, quinto exportador mundial de petróleo. 'Estamos trabalhando muito duro para restituir a confiança afetada pelo golpismo petroleiro’, disse aos jornalistas o ministro das Relações Exteriores, Roy Chaderton, no Palácio presidencial de Miraflores, depois de um Conselho de ministros. A Petróleos da Venezuela SA (PDVSA) aderiu à paralisação em 4 de dezembro com o intuito de reforçar a greve geral opositora convocada para forçar a saída de Hugo Chávez da presidência do país, objetivo mais tarde redirecionado para a realização de eleições antecipadas, algo não previsto na Constituição. O Governo decidiu então ‘fazer uma limpeza’ na PDVSA e demitir centenas de executivos, que, na sua opinião, ‘sabotaram’ as instalações para que parassem de operar. A ‘limpeza’, à qual Chávez se referiu várias vezes, será complementada com uma reestruturação interna que implicará na eliminação de milhares de postos burocráticos, principalmente na sede central de Caracas, onde o número de funcionários chega a mais de 6.000. Essa reestruturação terá, como primeira fase, a criação de duas grandes operadoras, uma no oeste e outra no leste do país, cujo objetivo será a descentralização do poder, até agora concentrado em Caracas. O ministro de Minas e Energia, Rafael Ramírez, reconheceu que o processo de recuperação e transformação da empresa vai ser longo e complicado. No entanto, ele demonstrou estar confiante de que em três meses as principais operações já terão sido normalizadas. Fonte: JB Online

www.planetark.org

VIENNA - Venezuelan oil officials said on Sunday that sabotage at oilfields, refineries and computer systems was causing pollution and preventing a swift recovery in the industry, crippled by a six-week-old strike.

Arriving at an emergency OPEC meeting in Vienna called to deal with the extended Venezuelan stoppage, state oil company chief Ali Rodriguez said the South American country was aiming to supply its minimum supply obligations by the end of January.

Striking executives at Petroleos de Venezuela, many of whom have now been sacked by Rodriguez, say incompetence by replacement workers is to blame for the accidents.

"There has been electronic sabotage and sabotage on valves, because the (strike) campaign has been aimed at causing accidents, and we have to take anti-sabotage measures to start up safely," he told reporters on arrival in the Austrian capital.

Rodriguez, a former secretary-general of OPEC, said the country still aimed to meet its minimum contractual supply obligations by the end of January, but declined to provide any figures on output in the world's fifth largest exporter. Venezuela previously supplied 13 percent of U.S. oil imports.

A full recovery in ouput by the end of February, a previous target, would not be achieved because of the extensive sabotage, he said.

Striking oil company executives, demanding the government's resignation, said crude flows dropped below half a million barrels per day last week, from more than three million in November.

The country's main oil refineries have ground to a virtual halt, export terminals have closed or drastically reduced loadings and long lines have formed at gasoline stations, while Venezuela resorts to importing fuel.

"Internal market distribution is being normalised, we have managed to free up port operations and we have drawn down stocks whose build-up had blocked production," Rodriguez said.

"This has helped a sustained rise in output, so this month we should achieve our objectives," he said without providing details.

"Our objective is to reestablish basic production this month and restart the refineries to satisfy the internal market because we are importing gasoline at prices far above what we sell it at, which is creating losses for the company," Rodriguez said.

In Lake Maracaibo, where Venezuela pumps about half its crude oil, Rodriguez blamed a recent oil spill on sabotage. In the country's largest refinery, Amuay-Cardon, he said striking workers had shut the plant incorrectly, leaving deposits of asphalt and sulphur in some units.

In the smaller El Palito refinery, Rodriguez said a fire last week was caused by a faulty seal which has now been corrected and output there was restarting.

Asked whether oil production would be fully restored by the end of February, Rodriguez said, "Not totally because damage has been very great and we don't know if there has been sabotage in some wells, so we have to be very careful."

Story Date: 14/1/2003

abcnews.go.com Some in Venezuela's Opposition Reviewing Strike Strategy; Moves Could Affect Education, Hospitals The Associated Press Venezuela Jan. 13 —

Venezuelan opposition leaders said Monday they were considering asking doctors, teachers and small business owners to return to work, saying aspects of the 43-day-old walkout could become "counterproductive."

But the strike will continue where it matters most, in the key oil industry, said Enrique Naime, a leader of the opposition political movement Democratic Coordinator. The industry provides half of government revenue and 80 percent of export earnings.

"The oil people are insisting they aren't going to cede," Naime said. "The strike will continue but it's important to continue without kicking goals into our own net."

The opposition is worried that suffering caused by the strike could lead to a popular backlash, even though it says it has taken measures to ensure there are no acute shortages of essential goods.

Most private schools and some public schools have been closed since the strike began Dec. 2. Hospital workers supporting the strike are only attending emergencies. Many small businesses complain they can't sustain losses much longer. Gasoline and bank lines are long; gas shortages have disrupted commerce. Many Caracas supermarkets have run out of fresh milk and are running low on basics such as flour and drinking water. Many medicines no longer are available at pharmacies.

"At this moment, the doctors' strike could be counterproductive, just like the educational strike could be counterproductive," Naime said.

He said strike leaders were considering asking medical workers, teachers and small business owners to resume work.

William Davila, another Democratic Coordinator leader, said the food industry also should be given the freedom to ensure supply.

But Davila said any easing of the strike should depend on a pending decision by the Supreme Court on the legality of a nonbinding referendum of Chavez's rule. The National Elections Council has set the referendum for Feb. 2.

The strikers are trying to force Chavez to accept a nonbinding referendum on his rule. Chavez's presidency runs until January 2007, and Venezuela's constitution says a binding referendum may be held halfway into his six-year term, or August.

Chavez's opponents cite a clause in the constitution that allows citizens to petition for referendums on "matters of national importance" at any time. They delivered 2 million signatures asking for the vote.

The strike is strongest in the state oil monopoly, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., where 30,000 of 40,000 workers are striking. The government fired at least 1,000 managers. Energy and Mines Minister Rafael Ramirez said the government will bring oil production back to 2.5 million barrels a day by mid-February.

Once the world's fifth largest oil exporter and No. 4 supplier to the United States, Venezuela now exports less than 300,000 barrels a day, according to striking executives. The government says exports are 800,000 a day.

According to the Lundberg Survey of 8,000 U.S. service stations, Venezuela's strike has helped raise U.S. gasoline prices by 5 cents per gallon in the past three weeks to an average $1.50 a gallon.

Citing scarce gasoline imports from Venezuela, the U.S. Energy Department said American motorists could pay up to $1.54 per gallon of gasoline this spring even if war is averted in Iraq.

"The market underestimated the tenacity of the Venezuelan strikers," said Phil Flynn, head of the energy trading desk at Alaron Trading Corp. on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. "People are finally starting to wake up not just to the strike but also to Venezuela's importance as a U.S. supplier."

In Maracaibo, 340 miles west of Caracas, police used tear gas to keep pro- and anti-Chavez rallies apart. National Guard troops used tear gas to stop a small clash in Caracas.

Chavez who purged the military of dissidents after a brief April coup has sent troops to seize striking oil tankers, commandeer gasoline trucks and lock strikers out of oil installations. Last week, he threatened to send soldiers to seize food production plants participating in the strike and fire or jail striking teachers.

"We are spending millions of dollars to import food," Chavez said Friday. "I can't allow the people to be strangled by hunger. I can't allow children to die because there are no medicines, or no milk."

www.krnv.com

Caracas, Venezuela-AP -- Some Venezuelan opposition leaders are afraid of a public backlash from the general strike. And they may ask doctors, teachers and small business owners to go back to work. One opposition leader says strikes by doctors and educators could be counterproductive.

There's also concern that small businesses may go under if the strike strategy continues.

The opposition is trying to drive President Hugo Chavez from office -- but he's now taking steps of his own.

Last week he threatened to send soldiers to seize food production plants taking part in the strike. He also threatened to fire or jail striking teachers.

The opposition vows the strike that has crippled Venezuela's oil production will continue.

Copyright 2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

www.forbes.com Reuters, 01.13.03, 4:21 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top leader of the Venezuelan opposition said Monday he opposed a move to include Brazil as part of a multinational effort to end a strike that has crippled the vital Venezuelan oil industry.

Political opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have been striking for a month and a half, trying to force the populist leader to resign and call new elections. The shutdown has slashed Venezuela's oil exports and caused widespread food and fuel shortages, but Chavez insists he will not step down.

Brazil, a key trading partner with Venezuela, has been widely mentioned as a possible participant in the Group of Friends, a new diplomatic effort that aims to find a negotiated settlement to the crisis.

But congressman Timoteo Zambrano, a member of the Venezuelan opposition, said Monday that Colombia and Brazil should be excluded because they share borders with Venezuela. "By defining who takes part (in the mediation), a basic prerequisite, which has been the doctrine of the United Nations, is that territorial neighbors not participate in the Group of Friends," said Zambrano, who is in the United States to argue the opposition's point of view at the State Department and the United Nations.

That rule has "given good results so far. I don't think we should change it," Zambrano said, adding bordering nations share "geopolitical interests" that could "complicate decisions that need to be made."

The opposition veto would be a major blow to efforts by Brazil's new president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to mediate in the crisis, which has practically halted exports by the world's fifth largest oil exporter.

In December, Brazil dispatched a tanker with much-needed gasoline supplies to Venezuela, a move the opposition dubbed as "unfriendly."

Zambrano mentioned Mexico, Peru and Canada as nations that would be acceptable to the opposition as mediators, although he warned that the Group of Friends would have to act within the framework of a December resolution by the Organization of American States. That resolution backed the mediation of OAS Secretary-General Cesar Gaviria.

The Group of Friends is the latest initiative to jump-start talks that have so far been mediated by the OAS.

Richard Boucher, the spokesman for the State Department, said Monday the United States had not "tried to specify the countries that would be participants in this friends' group to support (the) secretary-general."

The OAS, the United States and others have been working toward finding an "electoral solution" to the Venezuelan problem but the opposition and the government have been deadlocked on the issue of early elections.

Zambrano, who is accompanied by union boss Carlos Ortega, a key figure behind the strike, said that they would also urge the United States to convoke a meeting of the hemisphere's foreign ministers.

Both are scheduled to meet with top State Department officials Monday afternoon.