Carlos Tejera pointed out constitutional difficulties arising from the GBRV’s oil service sector expropriations in May and June. He noted that in apparent contravention of the Venezuelan constitution and standing laws, the May 7 oil service sector law allows MENPET (1) to expropriate companies and assume control over operations prior to providing fair market compensation, (2) to pay for expropriated assets with instruments other than cash (e.g., PDVSA bonds/debt issuance), and (3) to pay book value rather than fair market value for seized assets. Finally, Tejera added that the May 7 law appears to be vague enough to be applicable to sectors other than hydrocarbons. Others, however, noted that the constitutionality of the law is irrelevant in the current Venezuelan legal environment. In fact, Halliburton,s Castenada added that he no longer believes Halliburton is too large for PDVSA to seize, but rather that some elements of its operations in Venezuela are now vulnerable.

The business representatives agreed that no one knows the real level of Venezuelan crude production but that it is not over 3 million barrels/day as claimed by the GBRV. PDVSA claims that it implemented fully the September 2008 and December 2009 OPEC quota cuts of over 300,000 barrels/day, but industry participants have confirmed that PDVSA has quietly re-activated production from fields where production was curtailed.

Chevron,s Ron Lubojacky added that PDVSA and MENPET need to understand that they are sending all the wrong messages to the private sector at a time when the GBRV is clearly trying to court new investment in the Carabobo heavy oil bid round. Tejera stated that the USG [United States Government] should not adopt a narrow strategy of defending particular companies in particular cases, because the GBRV cares little for the private sector. Rather, the USG should point out that the GBRV’s actions have consequences and that its actions run counter to its stated goals. The representatives disagreed whether U.S. firms were specifically targeted, but agreed that other foreign oil companies (including politically expedient national oil companies, such as CNPC and PetroPars) confronted similar challenges. They also agreed that all companies in the sector are facing payments problems with PDVSA.

Chevron,s Ron Lubojacky added that PDVSA and MENPET need to understand that they are sending all the wrong messages to the private sector at a time when the GBRV is clearly trying to court new investment in the Carabobo heavy oil bid round. Tejera stated that the USG [United States Government] should not adopt a narrow strategy of defending particular companies in particular cases, because the GBRV cares little for the private sector. Rather, the USG should point out that the GBRV’s actions have consequences and that its actions run counter to its stated goals. The representatives disagreed whether U.S. firms were specifically targeted, but agreed that other foreign oil companies (including politically expedient national oil companies, such as CNPC and PetroPars) confronted similar challenges. They also agreed that all companies in the sector are facing payments problems with PDVSA.

This was the first opportunity U.S. oil production and services companies have had to discuss the current situation since the Ambassador returned to post. They used this meeting to underscore the on-going difficulties of doing business in Venezuela and their long-term commitment to finding a business model that will permit them to stay to support Venezuela’s exploitation of its abundant oil reserves. The companies understand that they need to align their economic interests with the stated political goals of the Chavez administration in order to survive here in the long-term. That saidthey hope the USG can convey to the GBRV that its actions will likely erode production levels and not just affect private sector profits. The GBRV’s actions demonstrate its belief that the business community will continue to work in Venezuela under nearly any condition. The question remains how long companies will continue operating in this environment given on-going difficulties, all in the hope of future profits.