Venezuela signed agreements today with five foreign oil companies to hand over operations of four massive Orinoco heavy oil projects, with ConocoPhillips alone failing to sign the accords.
Leftist president Hugo Chavez decreed in February that the projects be converted to joint ventures with a majority held by state oil company PDVSA as part of a nationalization drive to advance his self-styled socialist revolution.
ConocoPhillips has the heaviest presence of any foreign company in Venezuela's vast Orinoco belt, holding the largest stakes in two of the four projects that can turn tar-like crude into around 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) of synthetic oil.
Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez complained about Conoco's negotiating tactics and warned that their refusal to sign a deal meant the US company was less likely than the others to remain in its projects.
ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva said the the company expects to hand operations over by May 1st without problems, but said discussions over future participation in the Orinoco would go on much longer.
The takeovers pit the fourth-largest oil exporter to the United States against some of the world's largest companies in the struggle for control over four projects valued in total at over $30 billion.
