Pdvsa will come legally against decision of Conoco

Pdvsa affirms that the option that exerted Conoco to buy its participation in a unit of the refinery comprises of a strategy of the arbitration (File)

Petroleums of Venezuela (Pdvsa) are preparing the legal actions that it will undertake against the oil ConocoPhillips American by his decision to exert an option to buy the participation of the state Venezuelan in a coke unit of the Sweeny refinery.

Conoco said that it notified Pdvsa 28 of August the past that will exert the option to buy 50% that has the oil Venezuelan in the unit of Merey Sweeny by a breach from beginnings of year of a contract of provision of the crude one to the plant as a result of the cut of production decided by countries OPEC.

Conoco is owner of the Sweeny refinery in Texas, the United States, and owns a participation of 50% in that unit of slowed down coking that has a capacity to process 70,000 barrels per day in the American refinery Sweeny.

Vice-president of Exploration and Producción of Pdvsa, Eulogio Of the Pine, rejected the position assumed by Conoco because the decision to trim production and to stop sending crude to that plant in the United States is a sovereign decision.

“We are going to come (...) this legally is only one more strategy of their arbitration because they are in a phase who must demonstrate the rationality of all reclamations and he is not finding sustenance, when other companies yes negotiated with us”, said Of the Pine to the Universal one.

Conoco interposed an international arbitration against Venezuela the 13 of December of the 2007 before the Center International of Adjustment of Differences Regarding Investments (Ciadi) of the World Bank to demand a compensation by the nationalization of its participation of 50.10% in the heavy crude enhancer of old Petrozuata (today Petroanzoátegui) and 40% in the old Ameriven (today Petropiar) of Faja.

According to the site of the Ciadi, the case is in the heat of process without some decision has taken place on the matter until today.

Exxon Mobil also exerted a similar measurement against Venezuela by the nationalization of the old project Black Hill (today Petromonagas).

Nevertheless, other oil ones, like Total, Statoil, BP, Chevron negotiated with Pdvsa and remained in the projects like minority partners.

The manager of Pdvsa added that Venezuela exerted “the sovereign right” to trim production to fulfill the cut of OPEC. Specifically it was decided to trim in the first place the crude one that it was sent to the refinery of Sweeny because he is most expensive because it is necessary to eliminate impurities.

Of the Pine it affirmed that the contract is “illegal” that Conoco says that it forces Pdvsa to send crude since it contravenes the sovereign rights of the country.

It added that it is anticipated to ask for a judgment against the manager of the “old Pdvsa” that signed a guarantee over the State.

Deisy Buitrago
THE UNIVERSAL ONE