www.guardian.co.uk Wednesday March 12, 2003 The Guardian

42%

The amount by which Venezuela's economy is set to shrink in the first quarter, because of the collapse of oil production and the lack of foreign investment, according to a new survey by the Venezuelan subsidiary of the Spanish bank BBVA. The country has been hit by a crippling general strike and has seen mass protests against the authoritarian leftwing president, Hugo Chavez, in recent months.

· Spotted in the Financial Times, March 1

www.vheadline.com Posted: Thursday, March 06, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

The Confederation of Trade Unions executive (without Carlos Ortega) is embarking on some damage control as it fights off criticism inside the trade union movement regarding its seemingly compliance to the wishes of Federation of Chambers of Industry & Commerce (Fedecamaras).

Executive secretary Pablo Castro says it’s time for reform and suggests pruning the top heavy federation and union affiliation structure. “We have a union structure as if we were a developed country … Germany has reduced unions to around 15 and has come out stronger.”

The structure the CTV in Venezuela, Castro says, must streamline itself to between 15 and 20 organizations according to economic sectors.

Castro admits that the proposal will have a stormy passage as old-style union bosses resist change and fear a loss of power.

The CTV has convened a Congress for April 8-9 and Castro’s proposal will figure high on the agenda. The CTV leader adds that Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) union structure must change with the times and says he has the support of Froilan Barrios and Alfredo Ramos.

www.msnbc.com By Alex Robertson Textor ARTHUR FROMMER'S BUDGET TRAVEL

    Mar. 6 —  Amsterdam and Stockholm, with their active travel markets of globetrotting locals looking to head abroad to warmer climates throughout the year, are ideal places to shop for deals to exotic hot spots: Tunisia or the Canary Islands, Turkey or the coast of Portugal, the Greek Islands and more. You simply travel to Europe on one of the current ultra-cheap airfares, and then pay far less for a week’s vacation than you would had you booked at home. As a bonus, you spend a couple of days (or not) in one of these super-sophisticated cities and then jet off for a week in the sun. What’s more, the deals are open to any and all comers.  

       WE’LL FOCUS on the Amsterdam scene as an example of how to take advantage of this budget travel phenomenon, but we’ll also provide the vitals on doing the same in Stockholm for such deals as a week in Turkey for $150 (airfare and hotel included) or two weeks in Tunisia for $250.         WHERE THEY GO        For the most part there is uniformity of vacation destinations among the bargain vacation chains of the Netherlands and Sweden. The least expensive packages are to Turkey, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Malta, Tunisia, Spain (including the Canary Islands) and Portugal (including Madeira). Further afield, inexpensive packages from Northern Europe have recently included Brazil, the Caribbean, the Gambia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Venezuela. Some of these packages are offered directly through tour operators, others through consolidators (ticket discounters to the lay person) and yet others through individual budget travel agencies (see sidebar for full list).

               A taste of some recent non-summer package offers we found while researching: from Amsterdam, a week on Portugal’s Algarve coast can run as low as E189 ($204), or a week in Turkey can be as inexpensive as E149 ($161), including some meals. Also from Amsterdam, two weeks in north Tunisia can be had for an amazing E245 ($265).        From Stockholm for 1895 SKr ($225) you can jet off to the Canary Islands for a week, or two weeks in the Canary Islands can run as low as 2798 SKr ($332). An “actual” last minute deal turned up a week in Egypt from Stockholm for 1298 SKr ($154). All of these costs are per person based on double occupancy and include airfare and accommodation.        Most of the cheapest deals are not meal-inclusive, which means that you’ll need to find your own food, but many of these packages will place you in three-star (or better) hotels. Others will land you and your traveling companion in small studios with basic kitchen facilities. Many of these packages offer various opportunities for local tours but will very seldom lock you into any sort of program. In other words, you’ll be free to branch out and get away from your package vacation-mates.                Most deals are advertised online but require telephone or in-store purchase, either through a clearinghouse or through the individual operator. Once you have an idea of which deal you’d like, you can either book it before you leave the U.S. (if you feel more comfortable), but better yet, wait until you’re in Amsterdam or Stockholm and clinch the deal in person. This is not only for ease of booking, but also for the possibility of finding an even better, last-minute deal once you’re there. How to book deals in person in Amsterdam is detailed below.        Obviously, you need to have some flexibility in your travel plans to secure these on-the-spot deals. You’ll do well if the specifics of your departure are negotiable, and you’ll do even better if you’re open to several different potential destinations. Same day travel and group travel may further lower travel costs.          Author Gretchen Kelly answers your questions on business travel. Submit questions now!         GOING DUTCH        Once you get to Amsterdam, it won’t be hard to find one of these dirt-cheap travel companies. A budget travel company called D-Reizen has ten travel stores dispersed throughout Amsterdam. One D-Reizen office, at Beethovenstraat 21 in the south of Amsterdam, conveniently offers another wholesale travel company Rottink Reisburo, right next door.        D-Reizen’s other stores in Amsterdam are located just outside of the tourist zone. Two (at Ferdinand Bolstraat 58-60 and van Woustraat 207) are in Amsterdam’s De Pijp neighborhood. The Amstelveenseweg 210 location sits on the Western edge of the Vondelpark. Also in Amsterdam, Fast Minute Travel is located just a stone’s throw from Amsterdam’s Centraal Station. Fast Minute prefers to make reservations online or by phone, but will gladly direct you to their call center-cum-informal office.        Many other companies are oriented toward online transactions. These include Holidayspot, Travelbrokers, Superlastminutes and Vakantie Discounter. All but Travelbrokers have telephone contact information listed below. If American tourists do not want to make reservations by telephone, they can contact these companies to determine if there is a way to buy tickets in person. Fast Minute in Amsterdam offers in-person purchase, and they are happy to give their office location to prospective customers contacting them by telephone or email.        (The telephone numbers listed below are written for dialing from within the Netherlands. When dialing from North America, use the prefix 011-31, then drop the first zero from all the numbers listed below.)         Aloha Travel. (www.aloha-travel.nl) 010-436-57-57, Eendrachtsplein 1a, 3015 LA Rotterdam. Aloha specializes in packages to Brazil and Venezuela. D-Reizen. (www.d-reizen.nl) With more than 150 sales offices in the Netherlands, D-Reizen is a discount (and regular fare) vacation package consolidator leader. Fast Minute. (www.fastminute.nl) 020-427-91-92. Favors online and telephone reservations, though also sells through its call center located near Amsterdam’s Centraal Station. Holidayspot. (www.holidayspot.nl) 0900-345-66-54 (E0.20/minute) email contact information via English language version of website. Good range of worldwide destinations. Lastminute.com (www.nl.lastminute.com) 0900-405-06-07 (E.15/minute). The Dutch version of lastminute.com. Rottink Reisburo. (www.rottinkreisburo.nl) sales offices throughout the Netherlands. Like D-Reizen, a major vacation package chain. Suntrex. (www.suntrex.nl) 030-275-30-35, Biltstraat 190, 3572 BR Utrecht. Suntrex specializes in packages to Greece, Portugal and Turkey. Sunweb. (www.sunweb.nl) 010-280-21-30. Great selections to the Canary Islands, Egypt, Portugal and Turkey. Superlastminutes. (www.superlastminutes.com) 053-480-77-33; info@superlastminutes.com. Canary Islands and Portugal are especially well represented here. Travelbrokers. (www.travelbrokers.nl) info@travelbrokers.nl. Good offerings to Greece, Turkey, Spain, Malta and Portugal, with further great values to North Africa. Vakantie Discounter. (www.vakantiediscounter.nl) 026-351-51-20; infoEvakantiediscounter.nl. Cheap options to Turkey, Malta, Canary Islands, Portugal and mainland Spain.          Like this story? Have the travel news delivered to your inbox every morning. Click here to sign up for our free e-mail newsletter!         THOSE SAVINGS-SAVVY SWEDES        (Again, the telephone numbers listed here are written for dialing from within the Sweden. When dialing from North America, use the prefix 001-46 for Sweden, and then drop the first zero from all the numbers        listed below in all cases but that of Flygtorget. When dialing Flygtorget from North America, simply dial 011 before the listed international number.)         Always. (www.always.se) 0771-340-350. Offers many last minute packages from Stockholm. Recent cheap offerings included Egypt and the Canary Islands. Apollo. (www.apollo.se) 0771-37-37-37. Nine sales offices in Sweden; two in Stockholm. Apollo’s “actual” last minute package fares are often shockingly inexpensive. Highly recommended. Detur. (www.detur.se) info@detur.se. Detur focuses on destinations in Turkey and Tunisia. Flygtorget. (www.flygtorget.se/resor) 0200-21-57-00 (outside of Sweden 46-8-505-504-30). Good consolidation site, with extensive listings. Fritidsresor. (www.fritidsresor.se) 0771-84-01-00, 12 sales offices in Sweden. Good standard Mediterranean and Asia offerings. My Travel. www.mytravel.se) 0771-230-230. My Travel offers last minute deals and vacation auctions, some of which can be quite inexpensive. Resfeber. (www.resfeber.se) bokningen@resfeber.se. Another great consolidator service. Ticket. (www.ticket.se) 0771-456-789. Yet another handy consolidator. Travelstart. (www.travelstart.se) 0200-110-255. A great consolidator. Ving. (www.ving.se) 0771-995-995. Part of the My Travel group.         CROSSING THE POND        Getting to Amsterdam or Stockholm is a breeze with flexible and wallet-friendly deals from purveyors like Go-Today.com        (www.go-today.com) and Europe Express (www.europeexpress.com) which regularly offer multi-night air and hotel packages to either city starting in the $399 to $599 range. They’ll easily extend the date of your return flight to your specifications, allowing you ample time to enjoy your vacation deal.                {Editor’s Note: Have you used a bucket shop in Europe? Do you have an instructive anecdote, tip or horror story to share? We’d love to hear it and possibly reprint it in our letters to the editor column. Simply click here to send a letter to our editors.}                Copyright © 2003 Newsweek Budget Travel, Inc.        

news.xinhuanet.com Xinhuanet 2003-03-04 11:31:13

°°°°MEXICO CITY, March 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Visiting Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz warned on Monday that if his country falls, so could Venezuela and Mexico as they also have petroleum.

°°°°"If (US President) George W. Bush succeeds in removing the Government of Iraq, it would not be the only one to fall. Like Iraq, Mexico and Venezuela also have oil," Aziz told the Mexican daily La Jornada.

°°°°The United States imports 15 percent of its oil consumption from each of the four countries, Mexico, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Canada.

°°°°Aziz hoped Chile and Mexico, both non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, would remain firm on their opposition to a US-led attack on Iraq. Otherwise, he stressed, "Venezuela could be militarily threatened."

°°°°Aziz said Mexico is a friendly country to Iraq and there is no reason for it to take a negative stance on the Iraq issue.

°°°°Iraq met a Saturday deadline to begin destroying its Al-Samoud 2 missiles, banned because its range may be slightly longer than allowed under UN resolutions.

°°°°Iraq agreed to destroy the missiles because it wants to cooperate with governments such as those of France and Mexico, which are aware that it is necessary to stop the United States from launching a war, Aziz said.

°°°°Reiterating that the Iraqis do not want war, Aziz said that if Iraq and all those groups all over the world that oppose war could coordinate their positions, they might stop a possible attack on his country. Enditem

biz.yahoo.com biz.yahoo.com Thursday February 27, 6:00 am ET

HOUSTON, Feb. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: HNR - News) today provided guidance for certain financial and operating assumptions for 2003 and 2004.

Oil production from Venezuela during 2003 is estimated at 21,000 to 23,000 barrels of oil per day (Bopd) assuming no further interruptions in production and a return to full production capability. The lower level of estimated production is the result of first quarter 2003 production curtailments and the Company's previously announced plans to defer the infill drilling program to 2004. Natural gas production and sales are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year resulting in projected combined 2003 oil and gas production of 22,000 to 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (Boepd) compared with 26,600 barrels of oil per day in 2002. Combined oil and natural gas production is projected to increase in 2004 to between 31,000 to 36,000 Boepd.

Harvest President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Peter J. Hill, said, "The first quarter curtailments of production in Venezuela will reduce our 2003 annual oil production rates by 3,000 to 4,000 Bopd. This year will be a transition year for Harvest as we transform our production profile to include first production of natural gas. We plan to drill three oil wells in the West Bombal Field, which is a field that we have not previously developed. The opportunity to exploit sizeable natural gas reserves makes it more cost effective to complete future Uracoa Field oil wells just below the natural gas cap to maximize both oil and gas production in 2004 and beyond. As a result, additional drilling in the Uracoa Field will be delayed until 2004 after we begin producing natural gas."

Benton-Vinccler, C.A., our 80 percent owned Venezuelan company, has hedged a portion of its 2003 oil production by purchasing a West Texas Intermediate "put" to protect its 2003 cash flow. The put is for 10,000 Bopd for the period of March 1, 2003 through December 31, 2003. Due to the pricing structure for the Company's Venezuela oil, the put has the economic effect of hedging approximately 20,000 Bopd. The put has a strike price of $30.00 per barrel. The cost was $2.50 per barrel, or approximately $7.7 million.

Operating costs are expected to rise slightly to between $3.75 to 4.25 per barrel of oil equivalent (Boe) from $3.50 in 2002 due to increased water handling and workover expense before falling in 2004 to between $3.25 to $3.75 per Boe as production increases. As a result, net income is expected to be $4.0 million to $6.0 million and discretionary cash flow is projected to be between $30 million to $35 million.

Capital expenditures for 2003 are projected to be $45.0 to $50.0 million dollars compared with 2002 capital expenditures of $43.3 million. To partially fund the 2003 capital program, Benton-Vinccler borrowed $15.5 million in October 2002 to fund construction of the pipeline to deliver natural gas to Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.

Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. headquartered in Houston, Texas, is an independent oil and gas exploration and development company with principal operations in Venezuela and Russia. For more information visit the Company's website at www.harvestnr.com.

                            Actual 2002    2003 Guidance    2004 Guidance
Production
Oil (Bopd)                       26,600  21,000 - 23,000  23,000 - 27,000
Natural Gas (MMcfpd)                 --           5 - 10          45 - 55
Boe per day                      26,600  22,000 - 25,000  31,000 - 36,000

Price
Oil ($/Bbl)                      $13.08  $12.00 - $12.50
Natural Gas ($/Mcf)                                $1.03

Costs per Boe
Operating                         $3.50    $3.75 - $4.25    $3.25 - $3.75
G & A                             $1.70    $1.60 - $1.75    $1.50 - $1.75

Income (loss) from Geoilbent ($MM) $1.6      $1.5 - $2.5

Net income ($MM)                 $100.4      $4.0 - $6.0
Diluted earnings per share        $2.78    $0.11 - $0.17

Discretionary cash flow *         $59.3    $30.0 - $35.0

Capital Expenditures ($MM)        $43.3    $45.0 - $50.0    $30.0 - $35.0

* Discretionary cash flow is defined as cash flows from operating
  activities before changes in operating assets and liabilities.

GAAP vs Non-GAAP Reconciliation:
Net cash provided by
 operating activities             $42.6    $28.0 - $30.0
Estimated total changes in
 operating assets & liabilities   $16.7      $2.0 - $5.0
Discretionary cash flow           $59.3    $30.0 - $35.0

This press release may contain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this release may constitute forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Actual results may differ materially from the Company's expectations due to changes in operating performance, project schedules, oil and gas demands and prices, and other technical and economic factors.

Source: Harvest Natural Resources, Inc.