www.vheadline.com Posted: Thursday, January 30, 2003 - 2:59:22 AM By: Robert Rudnicki

According to a report published in the El Universal newspaper, the Venezuelan government is hoping to cut Petroleos de Venezuela's costs by as much as 51% by carrying out the planned restructuring of the company it announced several weeks ago.

PDVSA president Ali Rodriguez Araque announced plans to split the company into PDVSA East and PDVSA West, thus cutting out many administrative costs, mainly at the company's Caracas headquarters, where most workers continue to support the opposition's work stoppage.

The huge cost cutting is planned to come from layoffs, tax reforms, asset sales and the opening up of certain ventures to private participation.

If the cost cutting is a achieved, operating costs would be slashed by nearly $2 billion, helping the company to cope with lost sales of around $520 million per month.

Over 5,000 PDVSA workers have already been sacked and a further 1,000 are expected to be fired in the company's western operations some time over the next few days.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Thursday, January 30, 2003 - 3:03:24 AM By: Robert Rudnicki

Venezuelan hot briquetted iron producer, Venprecar, has been forced to suspend operations because of a continued gas shortage brought about as a result of the eight-week-old opposition work stoppage. The company is currently not receiving any gas supplies and needs around 22 million cubic feet per day to continue its operations.

Apparently Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) officials have promised to restart supplies to the plant, but an exact time or date has not been given. It is also unclear how serious an affect this will have on the company's yearly production figures, but this will surely depend on the length of time gas supplies remain unavailable.

Venprecar is a subsidiary of International Briquette Holdings (IBH), which recently decided to give up its US listing, as the expense was to high to be justifiable. The company will however maintain its listing on the Caracas Stock Exchange.

sg.biz.yahoo.com Thursday January 30, 10:54 PM

Venezuela/Force Majeure -2: Reach 2.5 Million B/D End Feb CARACAS (Dow Jones)--Venezuela's state-owned oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela is likely to lift its force majeure by the end of February when crude oil production is set to reach 2.5 million barrels per day, the company president said on PdVSA's Web site Thursday.

"We already have started to supply our main clients, like the United States, and very soon, most likely by the end of February we will defeat the force majeure," Ali Rodriguez said on PdVSA's Web site. A declaration of force majeure three days after the nationwide strike started Dec. 2 temporarily released the company and its clients from contractual obligations.

Rodriguez said also that crude production will hit its official OPEC quota of 2.819 million b/d by the end of March this year. Current production stands at 1.3 million b/d, Rodriguez added.

PdVSA dissident staff estimate production at 1.04 million b/d while exports don't exceed 500,000 b/d. The country is in its ninth week of a nationwide strike as diplomatic efforts to seek a solution are being stepped up.

(MORE) Dow Jones Newswires 01-30-03 0954ET

www.vheadline.com Posted: Thursday, January 30, 2003 - 11:25:28 AM By: VHeadline Reporters

Venezuela's heavily opposition-controlled media chooses to ignore popular support for President Hugo Chavez Frias seen here as he parades through the streets of Caracas to the cheering and applause of thousands of supporters and well-wishers.  Those who have backed the April 12 coup d'etat have put a price on the head of the popular President but as the picture shows, security operations surrounding the President are daringly minimal when compared to the entourage and the massive Secret Service planning that precedes US President George W. Bush's every footstep in his own backyard.

www.nzherald.co.nz 31.01.2003

CARACAS - Venezuelan private banks have decided to restore normal working hours, delivering a fresh blow to a faltering eight-week-old opposition strike against leftist President Hugo Chavez.

But the striking oil workers at the heart of the opposition campaign stayed firm in their shutdown, which has battered Venezuela's fragile economy and rattled energy markets by slashing crude output in the world's No 5 petroleum exporter.

Commercial banks, which make up nearly 90 per cent of the Venezuelan financial sector, had been operating for limited daily hours and restricting transactions since last month in support of the strike to push Chavez from office.

"This is a result of demands from the public and deposit-holders ... banks don't belong to their presidents," federal banking group president Nelson Mezerhane said after banking associations decided to restore normal hours.

Chavez, a populist former paratrooper, had threatened to seize striking banks, schools and factories to break the strike.

As the shutdown nears the two-month mark, backing for the protest in non-oil sectors has begun to fray as private businesses and stores reopen to fend off bankruptcy.

Opposition leaders, who brand Chavez's rule as dictatorial, inept and corrupt, offered to ease their strike by exempting food production and education.

But they have vowed to stay out until Chavez accepts elections. The President, whose term ends in 2007, has so far shown no signs of accepting their proposals for an early vote.

But economic pressure is building on the Government.

With the strike disrupting oil exports that account for half of its revenues, it plans to slash its budget and has suspended foreign currency trading while it prepares a fixed exchange rate to protect its reserves.

Battered by economic uncertainty, the currency has plummeted more than 24 per cent. Venezuela's international reserves have dipped more than 7 per cent, to $11.05 billion, since the start of the year.

Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and survived a coup last year, has dismissed calls for him to resign.

Though his popularity has fallen sharply this year, he maintains a solid base of support among poorer voters, who believe his left-wing reforms are the key to a better life.

He has fought back against the strikers by firing oil workers and deploying troops and replacement crews to oil installations.

But attempts to restart the industry have had limited success. Crude production stands at about one third of the 3.1 million barrels a day the Opec member produced in