Reader Comment on article 'US targets Venezuela over border dispute'
Reader Comment on article 'US targets Venezuela over border dispute'
By Arturo Rosales with Axis of Logic commentary
Saturday, Aug 1, 2015
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Arturo - August 1, 2015
You have to see the problem in the maritime Reclamation Zone of the Exxon-Mobil Champion rig in the context of what has gone before when Chavez was president. The law was changed in Venezuela especially for exploration and drilling in the Orinoco Oil Belt whereby all companies working there had to create a joint company with PDVSA and PDVSA would have 60% of the shares of the company.
Exxon-Mobil and Conoco-Philips withdrew and sued PDVSAA / Venezuelan government for compensation. Exxon-Mobil claimed some US$12 billion and when this went to arbitration in New York Exxon-Mobil were only awarded a few million dollars (US$46 million if I recall correctly).
Since that time, Exxon-Mobil has been shut out of the biggest oil reserves in the world in Venezuela and is not very happy about it. Thus, this provocative move of placing their rig in disputed territory after financing David Grangers election campaign (which he won by just 2000 votes).
This was a direct affront to Venezuela and the Reclamation Zone where projects can be carried out with the agreement of both countries. But Guyana acted unilaterally, thus breaking the Geneva Agreement of 1966 which is legally binding.
If you read Grangers background, he is a prime candidate to be a pawn of US policy against enemies of the Empire such as Venezuela. Educated in Defense establishments in the US, for example.
More:
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_71159.shtml