CARACAS, Thursday January 29, 2009 | Update
Economy
US oil driller Helmerich & Payne said on Thursday that
Venezuela's state run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela
(Pdvsa) owes it nearly USD 100 million and that it began to
halt rigs in the South American country.
So far, two of Helmerich rigs in Venezuela have ceased operations,
and that number is likely to increase to five by the end of
February as the current work agreements expire, Reuters reported.
"In the absence of any improvement of receivable collections,
the remaining rigs would probably become idle by the end of
July this year," Helmerich said in its quarterly earnings
release.
However, Helmerich officials told investors on a conference
call that they hoped to solve the issue and return to normal
operations in a near future.
05:09 PM. Economy. If any country has cashed in on the Bolivarian revolution, that is Brazil, particularly the private companies of the southern neighbor. Over the past five years, it has been awarded contracts for works to be carried out in Venezuela for over USD 14 billion. This puts it as the first recipient of government-to-government contracts, that is, without bidding, since Hugo Chávez took office.