http://www.boston.com/dailynews/113/world/Venezuela_asks_foreign_compani:.shtml

Venezuela asks foreign companies to trim oil production

By Associated Press, 4/23/2001 22:41

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Venezuela's state oil monopoly asked foreign oil companies operating marginal oil fields to cut production in an effort to reign the country's output into conformity with its new OPEC quota, a company spokeswoman said Monday.

It's the first time state monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela SA has asked foreign companies to trim oil production to help Venezuela meet quotas set by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

OPEC has cut production twice this year by a total of 2.5 million barrels a day in anticipation of slower demand during the summer season in major consuming countries and a global economic slowdown. For Venezuela, that meant trimming output by 9.4 percent to 2.8 million barrels per day.

Only companies operating 18 marginal oil fields under contracts awarded in 1997 will be asked to reduce output by a total of 9.4 percent, or 30,000 barrels per day, the spokeswoman said. She could not say how the reduction would be distributed except to say that Chevron Corp.'s Boscan field will shoulder the biggest share of the cut.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2001

Answers

Brooks

Here's a link i swiped from another group. There used to be a way of "gaming" quotas, because OPEC quota only covered "crude oil",not refined product or condensate. In reading between the lines about the "Orinoco synthetic" production, seems the game is still in place.

I'm out of date on this stuff, but seems to me the Ven's bought Citgo, and also now own half of Hess(or it's refinery in the Virgin Islands). So they could squeeze the others while maximizing their throughput at owned facilities

Venezuela Tells Private Oil Firms to Cut Output

http://www.slb.com/print_story.cfm? baid=1&storyid=208438&printable=1

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2001