More than 20 foreign companies including Chevron Corp., British Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell are being targeted in an effort to collect more than $3 billion.
Mr. Chavez, who presides over the largest oil reserves in the hemisphere is threatening to expel foreign oil companies if they do not pay up. Royal Dutch Shell and Houston-based Harvest Natural Resources, won't go without a fight.
These eight companies, including Harvest Natural Resources, the Spanish Repsol, and China National Petroleum Corp., last week signed transitory contracts that govern their operations as they negotiate the joint ventures with the state-run oil company PDVSA
"With a company like Chevron being in Venezuela for over 60 years, we are committed to Venezuela,"
Shell is "pro-active in approaching the government to talk about converting our operating agreement to a joint venture because we felt it was the right thing to do."
U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield said that while Venezuela has a sovereign right to govern its natural resources as it pleases, it also has an "obligation to respect the contracts that it has already signed and voluntarily entered into."
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