Venezuelan leader sets field takeover deadline
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez set a May 1 deadline for the world’s biggest oil companies to surrender control of multibillion-dollar crude oil projects, accelerating his raft of nationalizations.
Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said the state would seize the Orinico Belt fields if the deadline was missed, threatening U.S. companies such as Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips, British firm BP and Norway’s Statoil.
In Washington, the White House said it hoped that U.S. companies would be treated in accordance with international regulations.
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