Chavez Says Oil May Reach $300

[Mule]

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday oil prices could hit $300 per barrel if U.S. oil company Exxon Mobil again freezes Venezuelan assets in a dispute over a nationalized oil project.

Exxon (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) won court orders freezing $12 billion in assets held by Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA after the OPEC nation took over a multi-billion dollar oil project, heightening tensions with the United States and helping to raise oil prices.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/rbssEnergyNews/idUKN1338614020080713

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Does anyone really care what Chavez says?

He's got about as much credibility as snowman. Or maybe the Iraqi propaganda minister guy from the "Shock and Awe" days. It's right up there.

[Joeaksa]

So its ok for this idiot to freeze western assets in his country but if we do anything he says things like this?

Wonder what it would cost to rub him out? Two or three barrels of oil?

[legion]

I can make the price of oil go down for 23˘.

[sammyg2]

He stole a great deal of property from Exxonmobil.
XOM took him to international court and chavez lost. Now he says he'll cut off all oil. He's a crook and should be taken out.
I'd bet the only reason he hasn't is that we haven't figured out yet who we want to get blamed for it.

[mikester]

THIS is the kind of thing our Foreign Policy should be designed to handle. We have a nearly belligerent country unfairly seizing the assets of a US company. Ideally it wouldn't be something we went to war over but international sanctions a certainly something that should be on the table.

If this were a time prior to the UN we would be blockading their country. Oil is important and we can ill afford a radical like this doing his best to destroy our economy - which is exactly his intention. It is unfortunate that he has some measure of support in his country...

He's been saber rattling for years now that the US is going to try to kill him - seems like that and his actions are creating a self-full fulling prophecy.

[The Gaijin]

Would we then take over Citgo? I wonder?

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Does anyone really care what Chavez says?

He's got about as much credibility as snowman. Or maybe the Iraqi propaganda minister guy from the "Shock and Awe" days. It's right up there.

Actually, you would not believe how much Baghdad Bob's antics drove the US military's operational mindset during the invasion of Iraq.

A few of the top US commanders were obsessed with shutting him up to the point that doing so became a matter of operational necessity for them.

Amazing, but true.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by mikester

THIS is the kind of thing our Foreign Policy should be designed to handle. We have a nearly belligerent country unfairly seizing the assets of a US company. Ideally it wouldn't be something we went to war over but international sanctions a certainly something that should be on the table.

If this were a time prior to the UN we would be blockading their country. Oil is important and we can ill afford a radical like this doing his best to destroy our economy - which is exactly his intention. It is unfortunate that he has some measure of support in his country...

He's been saber rattling for years now that the US is going to try to kill him - seems like that and his actions are creating a self-full fulling prophecy.

Unfortunately Venezuela exports just over 1 million barrels of crude oil per day to the United States. Add to that almost 1/4 million barrels of gasoline and diesel a day, and they have us by the short hairs. They could sit through a total blockage and embargo and sanctions better than we could.

He's a rebel dictator, he's a thief, he's a troublemaker. He is purposefully de-stabilizing South America and is financially supporting rebels who attack his neighboring countries.
He stole property and oil that was bought and paid for by a US corporation and is now holding the US hostage with it. Here's some info from our government:

President Hugo CHAVEZ in 2007 nationalized firms in the petroleum, communications, and electricity sectors, which reduced foreign influence in the economy. Although voters in December 2007 rejected CHAVEZ's proposed constitutional changes, CHAVEZ still has significant control of the economy and has indicated he intends to continue to consolidate and centralize authority over the economy by implementing "21st Century Socialism."

He needs to be replaced by a medium-sized crater IMO.

[Seric]

Nutbag.

But we shouldn't ignore him, at all. He'll wake up one night with a double-tap to the head courtesy of Delta Force, or SEALs, or....

At least that is my "hope".

[RWebb]

sounds like Chavez has been having a wet dream...


I expect Bush feels he isn't worth messing with right now