Nicaragua President
Requests Plan To
Nationalize Oil
Importation
President Daniel Ortega
has instructed his
cabinet to come up with
a plan to nationalize
the importation of oil,
a responsibility now
largely held by the
U.S.-owned Esso Standard
Oil.
In a televised speech
late Wednesday, Ortega
said the decision
stemmed from a dispute
with Esso, owned by
Texas-based ExxonMobil
Corp. (XOM).
In August, a judge
ordered the seizure of
an Esso storage
terminal, saying the
company owed us$3
million in taxes. The
company has denied owing
any taxes.
Shortly after the
terminal was seized,
Energy Minister Emilio
Rappaccioli said the
state-run Petroleos de
Nicaragua, or Petronic,
didn't have the storage
capacity to hold oil
from Venezuela and
needed to use the
terminal to store 120,
000 barrels.
The terminal was
eventually returned to
Esso, but Ortega said
Wednesday the company
wasn't cooperating in
meetings to solve the
country's energy
shortages and rolling
blackouts.
"They are acting like
true mercenaries,
speculators, bleeding
the people," he said of
Esso executives.
Ortega added that the
shortages were "a matter
of national security,
and we are arriving at a
critical point. We must
make decisions."
Esso's general manager
in Nicaragua, Joaquim
Magalhaes, said he
wasn't sure what
Ortega's nationalization
plan would entail, and
that the company was
waiting for more
details.
Jose Adan Aguerri,
president of the
Superior Council for
Private Business, said
Ortega's announcement
"wasn't a positive
sign."
"It makes clear that, at
any moment, the
government could
nationalize any activity
it sees in its
interest," he said.
In January, Ortega
signed an agreement to
buy 10 million barrels
of Venezuelan crude, but
rumors persist that Esso
has refused to refine
it. Magalhaes denied
that, too.
Ortega imposed
disastrous state
controls on Nicaragua's
economy during his first
run as the country's
leader in the 1980s.
Since his return to
office in January, he
has maintained relations
with the U.S. and
promised to protect
private property and
foreign investment,
while also cozying up to
one of the most
outspoken critics of the
U.S., Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez.
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