Strike suspends Venezuelan oil exports to
Higher prices likely at pump, as Bush team prepares for
December 7, 2002
Robert Collier, Chronicle Staff Writer
"There's a lot of nervousness on the markets about it because it comes at an inconvenient time, when war in
A war with
PEOPLE OF PETROLEUM
But it is People of Petroleum that matters. Unlike most oil firms, which hire shipping contractors for most or all of their transport operations, PDVSA owns and operates all of its tankers. Now, as if with a flick of the switch, People of Petroleum's captains and executives have shut down the refineries and exports.
"The management of PDVSA and the tanker captains have placed their political interests over their professional responsibility," said Mazhar Al- Shereidah, director of Petroanalysis, an oil-industry consulting firm, and a professor of petroleum economics at the
Al-Shereidah compared the standoff with the British crisis in 2000, when oil truckers blockaded fuel depots to protest high diesel prices. Although the British public supported the truckers, Prime Minister Tony Blair refused to negotiate, called out the military and broke the strike.
"No democratic government would allow political interference with a fundamental, complex industry that provides one-half of government revenue," he said.