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Oerdin
-=Vel=-
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Oerdin
-=Vel=- -
Well, the idea is to avoid another "Great Depression" if at all possible. We've made it ~75 years. We'll see how things go.Originally posted by Kidicious
Well the economy has been relatively good. Just wait until that changes. Even during the Depression and New Deal communism was still becoming more popular.
-Arriangrog want tank...Grog Want Tank... GROG WANT TANK!
The trick isn't to break some eggs to make an omelette, it's convincing the eggs to break themselves in order to aspire to omelettehood.Comment
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They seem to be doing well in this case.Originally posted by Oerdin
You do know that Venezuela was already charging a tax of something like 80% of all gross oil revenue (not just profits), right? There's a 30% royality right off the top then a 50% tax on all gross revenues for foreign oil companies' operations in the country. The state oil monopoly of course does not have to pay an 80% tax on gross revenue.
Yep, those evil oil companies just aren't paying their fair share.
May I humblely suggest that the problems lie with the failures of the Venezuelan government both past and present?
I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
- Justice Brett KavanaughComment
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I think that the irony you were supposed to see is that, despite all this, Big C's government still can't seem to put much in the way of basic infrastructure together.
Then again, given his political leanings, we already knew that.
-=Vel=-Comment
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Originally posted by Velociryx
I think that the irony you were supposed to see is that, despite all this, Big C's government still can't seem to put much in the way of basic infrastructure together.
I don't know about infrastructure, but he's spending a lot on international programs to help the poor, which is really pissing off America.I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
- Justice Brett KavanaughComment
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I don't think that the act of spending money on the poor is pissing anybody off.
Where do you get this stuff, anyways? It's pure gold!
-=Vel=-Comment
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The New York Times. Do you think that the USA want's the poor of the world to see Chavez as a hero of the poor? He even has a program to help poor people in this country pay their energy bills.Originally posted by Velociryx
I don't think that the act of spending money on the poor is pissing anybody off.
Where do you get this stuff, anyways? It's pure gold!
-=Vel=-I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
- Justice Brett KavanaughComment
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Wow, this was written back in May 2005 and the author called it. Like dead on called it.
The shell game
The official oil production from Venezuela is pegged at 3.2 million barrels per day. According to intelligence service Stratfor.com, independent analysts, including OPEC's own, estimate that the actual figure is more like 2.6 million barrels. A good portion of that comes from non-PDVSA production delivered by foreign oil companies. Stratfor estimates the foreign oil company production to be "about 1 million bpd" that is produced "under strategic associations in the Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt and the recently nullified 32 operating contracts and strategic associations."
That means that PDVSA is only producing some 1.6 million barrels per day under the best guess scenario.
If Chavez' own oil production is only 50% of what it is supposed to be, where is all the money going to come from to pay for all his revolutionary adventures?
Two possibilities come to mind.
First, is a massive asset liquidation, including U.S. bonds, and U.S. dollars. PDVSA is already trying to sell its U.S. refineries. This would reverse the recent trends in the markets.
Second, is the specter of a Yukos-like nationalization of foreign oil company assets in Venezuela. Such a debacle would have huge ramifications across the oil industry, and could further increase the market's volatility, as it would put a big chill on global oil production and investment everywhere and increase the worry factor for international companies and the financial markets.
The latter is more likely at this point, than the former. But both would be very negative.Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.Comment
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Since the vast majority of foreign oil companies have agreed to Chavez's terms, one struggles to see what the problem is. As for investor confidence, Venezuela has joined Mercosur and has signed up for future EU-alike CSN. Presumably this will mean democracy and capitalism, no?Comment
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The New York Times. Do you think that the USA want's the poor of the world to see Chavez as a hero of the poor? He even has a program to help poor people in this country pay their energy bills.
Disconnect, and don't believe everything you read.
Chavez giving money to the poor, by whatever means, does not mean that those poor will see him as a hero.
In fact, all the USA has to do is let Chavez be Chavez. When his little party implodes, NO ONE will see him as a hero.
Well, okay, a few reds here in the industrialized world, who will bemoan the fact that he ALMOST got it right. Would have, too, if the evil pigdogs hadn't interfered, or if......
-=Vel=-Comment
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Another interesting quote from the same source.
Stratfor.com estimates that since Chavez became president, starting in 1998, "PDVSA has lost about 1.5 million bpd of its net crude oil production."
The main reasons have been the replacement of capable engineers and workers who disagreed with Chavez's revolutionary views, with inexperienced, and in many cases incapable replacements, and the lack of attention to infrastructure maintenance and improvement.
The result of the bad management and neglect, has been the steady erosion and near incapacitation of a major oil-producing region of Venezuela, the Western portion of the country, where as many as 10,000 wells have been estimated to have been rendered mostly useless. Venezuela is nominally the world's fifth largest oil producer.Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.Comment
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Stratfor.com?
-Arriangrog want tank...Grog Want Tank... GROG WANT TANK!
The trick isn't to break some eggs to make an omelette, it's convincing the eggs to break themselves in order to aspire to omelettehood.Comment
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Why couldn't the Venezuelan government just use its foreign exchange garnered from nationalized oil exports to hire foreign experts for exploration and infrastructure improvement? How would this be any worse for them than foreign investment and foreign ownership?Originally posted by Arrian
The first question is simple. If they need foreign help to extract & export that oil, then the foreigners are gonna want (and deserve) a cut. The size of the cut is, of course, debateable.Comment
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Yeah, whatever dude.Originally posted by Velociryx
Chavez giving money to the poor, by whatever means, does not mean that those poor will see him as a hero.
I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
- Justice Brett KavanaughComment
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You're right Kid.
Just last week, I gave some money to the Salvation Army, on my way into Wal-Mart.
I'm their God.
-=Vel=-Comment
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