An Obama / Chavez Smackdown?

[Vel]

Nah. I have a feeling that Obama will have NOTHING to say about this.

********************************************************

Chavez to Obama, 'Happy 4th. Now stick 'em up
Kevin McCullough

Here are the specifics. As of June 24, 2010 at 5:28pm EST, Hugo Chavez had initiated a hostile takeover of eleven oil rigs owned by the American company Helmerich and Payne. Make no mistake this rigs are not remotely mistakable as being the property of the government of Venezuela. But that made no difference to Chavez, and evidently not to the Obama administration, because to date they've taken no action to force Venezuela to return the ownership, and it is now four days into July.


Townhall - Chavez to Obama, 'Happy 4th. Now stick 'em up

 

[blu]

shows what a weak fool obama is. chavez would have never tried this shit under bush and if he did bush would have bombed him by the next week and continued it until the property was returned or the company was paid a fair share in exchange for the rigs.

 

[MaggieMae]

Nah. I have a feeling that Obama will have NOTHING to say about this.

********************************************************

Chavez to Obama, 'Happy 4th. Now stick 'em up
Kevin McCullough

Here are the specifics. As of June 24, 2010 at 5:28pm EST, Hugo Chavez had initiated a hostile takeover of eleven oil rigs owned by the American company Helmerich and Payne. Make no mistake this rigs are not remotely mistakable as being the property of the government of Venezuela. But that made no difference to Chavez, and evidently not to the Obama administration, because to date they've taken no action to force Venezuela to return the ownership, and it is now four days into July.


Townhall - Chavez to Obama, 'Happy 4th. Now stick 'em up

And of course, the same story from a non-ultracon blogsite, which clearly points out that this is really nothing new.

Venezuela takes ownership of seized oil rigs
Thu, Jul 1 2010
UPDATE 2-Venezuela to nationalize US firm's oil rigs
Wed, Jun 23 2010
Venezuela to nationalize US firm's oil rigs
Thu, Jun 24 2010
UPDATE 2-Helmerich says Venezuela yet to inform on rig takeover
Thu, Jun 24 2010
CARACAS | Thu Jun 24, 2010 8:36am EDT

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela will nationalize a fleet of oil rigs belonging to U.S. company Helmerich and Payne, the latest takeover in a push to socialism as President Hugo Chavez struggles with lower oil output and a recession.

A former soldier inspired by Cuba's Fidel Castro, Chavez has made energy nationalization the linchpin in his 'revolution'. He has also taken over assets in telecommunications, power, steel and banking.

The 11 drilling rigs have been idled for months following a dispute over pending payments by the OPEC member's state oil company PDVSA. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Wednesday the rigs, the Oklahoma-based company's entire Venezuelan fleet, were being nationalized to bring them back into production.

Ramirez said companies that refused to put their rigs into production were part of a plan to weaken Chavez's government,

"There is a group of drill owners that has refused to discuss tariffs and services with PDVSA and have preferred to keep this equipment stored for a year," Ramirez told reporters in the oil producing state of Zulia. "That is the specific case with U.S. multinational Helmerich and Payne."

The company was not immediately available for comment.

Chavez, who faces legislative elections in September, often pushes ahead with radical plans during election campaigns.

The 55-year-old leader is having a hard time in his 11th year in power. Venezuela's economy is the worst performing in Latin America this year, a problem exacerbated by a drop in oil output since 2008, power outages and soaring inflation.

NO SURPRISE

The takeover of Helmerich and Payne's rigs was not a surprise, considering Chavez penchant for nationalizations and the company's refusal to work before being paid the $49 million it has invoiced PDVSA.

Helmerich and Payne is a small player in the drilling industry, but global giants like Halliburton, Schlumberger and Baker Hughes also have a presence in Venezuela.

Halliburton and Schlumberger have avoided public spats with the government.

Chavez has kept pressure up on the private sector in recent months, blaming a "parasitic bourgeoisie" for Venezuela's recession and 30 percent annualized inflation,

He has threatened to nationalize Polar, the top brewer and food processor in the country of 30 million. The government has also seized a bank belonging to an owner of the leading opposition TV station and put an arrest warrant out for his partner, who is now on the run.

Chavez in 2007 nationalized multi-billion dollar projects in Venezuela's vast Orinoco oil region, persuading companies such as BP Plc, to accept minority stakes in facilities they had built.

Last year he ordered the takeover of dozens of smaller oil service companies as PDVSA, reeling from a sharp plunge in oil prices, struggled to pay contractors.

When he was flush with oil cash during a boom in oil prices that ended in 2008, Chavez often compensated nationalized companies fairly, although the 2007 takeovers led to lawsuits from ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil.

More recently Venezuela has been slower in paying compensation.

Venezuela to nationalize U.S. firm's oil rigs | Reuters

Hilariously, by posting this stuff in an attempt to further denigrate the Obama Administration, it only flies in the face of hypocrisy even further. Those are private oil companies operating in waters THEY signed with Venezuela on. Yet at the very hint of trouble, are you expecting your evil U.S. gubmit to rush to their rescue? And do what?

 

[Vel]

Nah. I have a feeling that Obama will have NOTHING to say about this.

********************************************************

Chavez to Obama, 'Happy 4th. Now stick 'em up
Kevin McCullough

Here are the specifics. As of June 24, 2010 at 5:28pm EST, Hugo Chavez had initiated a hostile takeover of eleven oil rigs owned by the American company Helmerich and Payne. Make no mistake this rigs are not remotely mistakable as being the property of the government of Venezuela. But that made no difference to Chavez, and evidently not to the Obama administration, because to date they've taken no action to force Venezuela to return the ownership, and it is now four days into July.


Townhall - Chavez to Obama, 'Happy 4th. Now stick 'em up

And of course, the same story from a non-ultracon blogsite, which clearly points out that this is really nothing new.

Venezuela takes ownership of seized oil rigs
Thu, Jul 1 2010
UPDATE 2-Venezuela to nationalize US firm's oil rigs
Wed, Jun 23 2010
Venezuela to nationalize US firm's oil rigs
Thu, Jun 24 2010
UPDATE 2-Helmerich says Venezuela yet to inform on rig takeover
Thu, Jun 24 2010
CARACAS | Thu Jun 24, 2010 8:36am EDT

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela will nationalize a fleet of oil rigs belonging to U.S. company Helmerich and Payne, the latest takeover in a push to socialism as President Hugo Chavez struggles with lower oil output and a recession.

A former soldier inspired by Cuba's Fidel Castro, Chavez has made energy nationalization the linchpin in his 'revolution'. He has also taken over assets in telecommunications, power, steel and banking.

The 11 drilling rigs have been idled for months following a dispute over pending payments by the OPEC member's state oil company PDVSA. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Wednesday the rigs, the Oklahoma-based company's entire Venezuelan fleet, were being nationalized to bring them back into production.

Ramirez said companies that refused to put their rigs into production were part of a plan to weaken Chavez's government,

"There is a group of drill owners that has refused to discuss tariffs and services with PDVSA and have preferred to keep this equipment stored for a year," Ramirez told reporters in the oil producing state of Zulia. "That is the specific case with U.S. multinational Helmerich and Payne."

The company was not immediately available for comment.

Chavez, who faces legislative elections in September, often pushes ahead with radical plans during election campaigns.

The 55-year-old leader is having a hard time in his 11th year in power. Venezuela's economy is the worst performing in Latin America this year, a problem exacerbated by a drop in oil output since 2008, power outages and soaring inflation.

NO SURPRISE

The takeover of Helmerich and Payne's rigs was not a surprise, considering Chavez penchant for nationalizations and the company's refusal to work before being paid the $49 million it has invoiced PDVSA.

Helmerich and Payne is a small player in the drilling industry, but global giants like Halliburton, Schlumberger and Baker Hughes also have a presence in Venezuela.

Halliburton and Schlumberger have avoided public spats with the government.

Chavez has kept pressure up on the private sector in recent months, blaming a "parasitic bourgeoisie" for Venezuela's recession and 30 percent annualized inflation,

He has threatened to nationalize Polar, the top brewer and food processor in the country of 30 million. The government has also seized a bank belonging to an owner of the leading opposition TV station and put an arrest warrant out for his partner, who is now on the run.

Chavez in 2007 nationalized multi-billion dollar projects in Venezuela's vast Orinoco oil region, persuading companies such as BP Plc, to accept minority stakes in facilities they had built.

Last year he ordered the takeover of dozens of smaller oil service companies as PDVSA, reeling from a sharp plunge in oil prices, struggled to pay contractors.

When he was flush with oil cash during a boom in oil prices that ended in 2008, Chavez often compensated nationalized companies fairly, although the 2007 takeovers led to lawsuits from ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil.

More recently Venezuela has been slower in paying compensation.

Venezuela to nationalize U.S. firm's oil rigs | Reuters

Hilariously, by posting this stuff in an attempt to further denigrate the Obama Administration, it only flies in the face of hypocrisy even further. Those are private oil companies operating in waters THEY signed with Venezuela on. Yet at the very hint of trouble, are you expecting your evil U.S. gubmit to rush to their rescue? And do what?

So it's no big deal huh?

 

[Vel]

shows what a weak fool obama is. chavez would have never tried this shit under bush and if he did bush would have bombed him by the next week and continued it until the property was returned or the company was paid a fair share in exchange for the rigs.

It's looking like other world leaders are finding that the best thing to do with Obama is .. ignore him.
*****************************

China Ignores Appeal From Obama, Jails US Geologist

(July 5) -- China today ignored a personal appeal from President Barack Obama and sentenced a U.S. geologist to eight years in prison for buying confidential information about China's oil industry. The court in Beijing also fined Xue Feng $30,000 for attempting to obtain and traffic state secrets.

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing said in a statement that it was dismayed by the punishment, according to The Associated Press, and called for Xue's immediate "humanitarian release" and deportation. Many experts see the sentence as a rebuke for Washington, which has taken a strong interest in the case. President Obama raised Xue's release in a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao last November, and Huntsman and other diplomats have visited the geologist some 30 times since he was detained in 2007.

The case has exposed the stark problems facing foreign multinationals that attempt to carry out basic research and analysis in China. State security agents seized the geologist, a naturalized U.S. citizen from China whose family lives in Texas, in Nov. 2007 after he purchased a detailed commercial database on China's oil industry for his American employer, the Colorado-based engineering consultancy IHS.

China Sentences US Geologist Xue Feng to 8 Years in Prison

 

[hortysir]

So it's no big deal huh?

Not if these private companies signed and agreed to follow their rules.
The price of doing business with the devil

 

[MaggieMae]

shows what a weak fool obama is. chavez would have never tried this shit under bush and if he did bush would have bombed him by the next week and continued it until the property was returned or the company was paid a fair share in exchange for the rigs.

It's looking like other world leaders are finding that the best thing to do with Obama is .. ignore him.
*****************************

China Ignores Appeal From Obama, Jails US Geologist

(July 5) -- China today ignored a personal appeal from President Barack Obama and sentenced a U.S. geologist to eight years in prison for buying confidential information about China's oil industry. The court in Beijing also fined Xue Feng $30,000 for attempting to obtain and traffic state secrets.

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing said in a statement that it was dismayed by the punishment, according to The Associated Press, and called for Xue's immediate "humanitarian release" and deportation. Many experts see the sentence as a rebuke for Washington, which has taken a strong interest in the case. President Obama raised Xue's release in a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao last November, and Huntsman and other diplomats have visited the geologist some 30 times since he was detained in 2007.

The case has exposed the stark problems facing foreign multinationals that attempt to carry out basic research and analysis in China. State security agents seized the geologist, a naturalized U.S. citizen from China whose family lives in Texas, in Nov. 2007 after he purchased a detailed commercial database on China's oil industry for his American employer, the Colorado-based engineering consultancy IHS.

China Sentences US Geologist Xue Feng to 8 Years in Prison

So you struck out in your first lame attempt at another Obama bashing, and you're trying another one? Oh do carry on. Advanced ODS is beginning to make you all look like perfect fools.

 

[MaggieMae]

So it's no big deal huh?

Not if these private companies signed and agreed to follow their rules.
The price of doing business with the devil

DON'T TREAD ON ME!!!!!!! [Except when I need my nanny]

 

[hortysir]

So it's no big deal huh?

Not if these private companies signed and agreed to follow their rules.
The price of doing business with the devil

DON'T TREAD ON ME!!!!!!! [Except when I need my nanny]

 

[Charles_Main]

ah I see so it is "really nothing new" so it is ok that Obama is ignoring it.

sigh.

 

[hortysir]

ah I see so it is "really nothing new" so it is ok that Obama is ignoring it.

sigh.

Would you have our President intercede in every private business dealing that didn't turn out "fair" to one party or another?

 

[Jeremy]

ah I see so it is "really nothing new" so it is ok that Obama is ignoring it.

sigh.

Would you have our President intercede in every private business dealing that didn't turn out "fair" to one party or another?

So a totalitarian regime confiscating the private property of an American business is just a "private business deal"? You libs are so fucking helpless. I hope the next time Sean Penn or Daniel Glover go down there to blow kisses to Chavez's prostate they are confiscated in the name of nationalizing the media/entertainment industry.

 

[Charles_Main]

ah I see so it is "really nothing new" so it is ok that Obama is ignoring it.

sigh.

Would you have our President intercede in every private business dealing that didn't turn out "fair" to one party or another?

No just in the ones where a National Government is committing a Massive Blatant Robbery of the property of US companies and US citizens.

WTF do you liberals think the Presidents Job is, if it is not to protect the interests of American Companies and People in situations like this.


I feel like I am living in LaLa Land.

 

[MaggieMae]

ah I see so it is "really nothing new" so it is ok that Obama is ignoring it.

sigh.

How do you know he is "ignoring" it? Aww, aren't you on his need-to-know list? I'm quite sure there are HUNDREDS of events that happen across the globe on a daily basis that Obama knows about but doesn't comment on. He's no different than any other president who gets a daily briefing on global national security issues, among other things, but they're not ALL earth-shattering events. And this isn't one of them either.

 

[MaggieMae]

ah I see so it is "really nothing new" so it is ok that Obama is ignoring it.

sigh.

Would you have our President intercede in every private business dealing that didn't turn out "fair" to one party or another?

I can envision the army of pitchfork wielding protestors descending upon the White House now...

 

[MaggieMae]

ah I see so it is "really nothing new" so it is ok that Obama is ignoring it.

sigh.

Would you have our President intercede in every private business dealing that didn't turn out "fair" to one party or another?

No just in the ones where a National Government is committing a Massive Blatant Robbery of the property of US companies and US citizens.

WTF do you liberals think the Presidents Job is, if it is not to protect the interests of American Companies and People in situations like this.


I feel like I am living in LaLa Land.

As the Reuters article pointed out, thus far Chavez is all talk and no action. How about calming down until he actually DOES confiscate the rigs, if he does. Right now, I fail to see what you think Obama should do. Those companies made contracts with Venezuela and if Venezuela is reneging on those contracts, I'm sure the American companies have their team of lawyers to deal with it. Apparently Exxon-Mobil has gone through the same thing. Where was your outrage then?

 

[hortysir]

ah I see so it is "really nothing new" so it is ok that Obama is ignoring it.

sigh.

Would you have our President intercede in every private business dealing that didn't turn out "fair" to one party or another?

So a totalitarian regime confiscating the private property of an American business is just a "private business deal"? You libs are so fucking helpless. I hope the next time Sean Penn or Daniel Glover go down there to blow kisses to Chavez's prostate they are confiscated in the name of nationalizing the media/entertainment industry.

ah I see so it is "really nothing new" so it is ok that Obama is ignoring it.

sigh.

Would you have our President intercede in every private business dealing that didn't turn out "fair" to one party or another?

No just in the ones where a National Government is committing a Massive Blatant Robbery of the property of US companies and US citizens.

WTF do you liberals think the Presidents Job is, if it is not to protect the interests of American Companies and People in situations like this.


I feel like I am living in LaLa Land.

Fuckin-A!!
That makes 4 and 5 times, in the past week, I've been labeled a Liberal.

You anti-Obama types have such a hard-on for the guy that, if he wipes his ass and uses 4 squares instead of 3, you accuse him of being wasteful in these financially trying times.

You call yourself a Republican (remember that "smaller government" thingy?) but you want Obama to stick his nose in everything for you.

This company was stupid enough to set up shop in Chavez's waters and agree to continue production at his whim.
SURPRISE!!! Chavez isn't paying Americans their money.
So they stop production. Something they knew that Chavez didn't want them doing.
They left their rigs, abandoned, to a totalitarian socialist and are now shocked that he seized their property.

Obammy!!! Please help us??!!!!!

Go cry to somebody that gives a shit.
Bam-Bam couldn't care less how many assets are surrendered to his buddy, Hugo.


Bullshit has no party affiliation.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Nah. I have a feeling that Obama will have NOTHING to say about this.

********************************************************

Chavez to Obama, 'Happy 4th. Now stick 'em up
Kevin McCullough

Here are the specifics. As of June 24, 2010 at 5:28pm EST, Hugo Chavez had initiated a hostile takeover of eleven oil rigs owned by the American company Helmerich and Payne. Make no mistake this rigs are not remotely mistakable as being the property of the government of Venezuela. But that made no difference to Chavez, and evidently not to the Obama administration, because to date they've taken no action to force Venezuela to return the ownership, and it is now four days into July.


Townhall - Chavez to Obama, 'Happy 4th. Now stick 'em up

And of course, the same story from a non-ultracon blogsite, which clearly points out that this is really nothing new.

Venezuela takes ownership of seized oil rigs
Thu, Jul 1 2010
UPDATE 2-Venezuela to nationalize US firm's oil rigs
Wed, Jun 23 2010
Venezuela to nationalize US firm's oil rigs
Thu, Jun 24 2010
UPDATE 2-Helmerich says Venezuela yet to inform on rig takeover
Thu, Jun 24 2010
CARACAS | Thu Jun 24, 2010 8:36am EDT

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela will nationalize a fleet of oil rigs belonging to U.S. company Helmerich and Payne, the latest takeover in a push to socialism as President Hugo Chavez struggles with lower oil output and a recession.

A former soldier inspired by Cuba's Fidel Castro, Chavez has made energy nationalization the linchpin in his 'revolution'. He has also taken over assets in telecommunications, power, steel and banking.

The 11 drilling rigs have been idled for months following a dispute over pending payments by the OPEC member's state oil company PDVSA. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Wednesday the rigs, the Oklahoma-based company's entire Venezuelan fleet, were being nationalized to bring them back into production.

Ramirez said companies that refused to put their rigs into production were part of a plan to weaken Chavez's government,

"There is a group of drill owners that has refused to discuss tariffs and services with PDVSA and have preferred to keep this equipment stored for a year," Ramirez told reporters in the oil producing state of Zulia. "That is the specific case with U.S. multinational Helmerich and Payne."

The company was not immediately available for comment.

Chavez, who faces legislative elections in September, often pushes ahead with radical plans during election campaigns.

The 55-year-old leader is having a hard time in his 11th year in power. Venezuela's economy is the worst performing in Latin America this year, a problem exacerbated by a drop in oil output since 2008, power outages and soaring inflation.

NO SURPRISE

The takeover of Helmerich and Payne's rigs was not a surprise, considering Chavez penchant for nationalizations and the company's refusal to work before being paid the $49 million it has invoiced PDVSA.

Helmerich and Payne is a small player in the drilling industry, but global giants like Halliburton, Schlumberger and Baker Hughes also have a presence in Venezuela.

Halliburton and Schlumberger have avoided public spats with the government.

Chavez has kept pressure up on the private sector in recent months, blaming a "parasitic bourgeoisie" for Venezuela's recession and 30 percent annualized inflation,

He has threatened to nationalize Polar, the top brewer and food processor in the country of 30 million. The government has also seized a bank belonging to an owner of the leading opposition TV station and put an arrest warrant out for his partner, who is now on the run.

Chavez in 2007 nationalized multi-billion dollar projects in Venezuela's vast Orinoco oil region, persuading companies such as BP Plc, to accept minority stakes in facilities they had built.

Last year he ordered the takeover of dozens of smaller oil service companies as PDVSA, reeling from a sharp plunge in oil prices, struggled to pay contractors.

When he was flush with oil cash during a boom in oil prices that ended in 2008, Chavez often compensated nationalized companies fairly, although the 2007 takeovers led to lawsuits from ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil.

More recently Venezuela has been slower in paying compensation.

Venezuela to nationalize U.S. firm's oil rigs | Reuters

Hilariously, by posting this stuff in an attempt to further denigrate the Obama Administration, it only flies in the face of hypocrisy even further. Those are private oil companies operating in waters THEY signed with Venezuela on. Yet at the very hint of trouble, are you expecting your evil U.S. gubmit to rush to their rescue? And do what?

Are you defending the seizure of private property through the force of government?

 

[MaggieMae]

You anti-Obama types have such a hard-on for the guy that, if he wipes his ass and uses 4 squares instead of 3, you accuse him of being wasteful in these financially trying times.

 

[MaggieMae]

Are you defending the seizure of private property through the force of government?

No. But I could find nothing that says the Bush Administration got involved in the similar situation involving Exxon Mobil in 2007 when the Chavez administration took control of their assets in the Orinoco River belt, as part of a nationalization campaign that began early that year. Exxon sued for several billion. Chavez has a very short memory, or as usual he's all bluster.