Venezuela Seizes US Off Shore Rigs

[Munster30]

The Venezuelan government just seized 11 US owned off shore rigs off the Venezuelan coast.
I don't expect pResident Obambi to interrupt his busy golf or party schedule for this.

http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/06/venezuela-seizes-11-us-gulf-oil-rigs-off-its-caribbean-coast/

[John Culver]

he could care less because he is a traitor

[martin35]

Chavez has the same economic problems as the rest of the world but he see's a solution in siezing the wealth or property of others to service his debt.
The oilfields American companies found, developed and service are still and always have been the property of Venezuela, but not the American rigs and plants built with American investments, I deem these siezures as a act of war.
Chavez has a sympatico in Obama and may get away with his theft.
Helmerich & Payne might place a lien on Venezuelan assets here in the USA,,, Citgo.

[Mountain Mosby]

May get away with it??? He WILL... :rolleyes:

[Sig220]

Read where the state oil company of Venezuala already owed many millions to the rig owners. Maybe this is the way Chavez "discharges" his debts??

[flopshot]

Originally posted by martin35
I deem these siezures as a act of war.


in chavez's world, expecting to be paid for the oil delivered is an act of war.
hence, the seizure of the rigs.

[RacerRTR]

Not sure what the deal is with the link, I'm using FireFox and get a warning page that the site is a known attack page.:(

[martin35]

It's widely reported on the Internet.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-24/pdvsa-to-seek-seizure-of-11-helmerich-payne-rigs.html

[SWOHFAL]

SEALs and/or Delta, IIRC, have trained to recover oil platforms.

[Bama Steve]

Martin,

Are you a Garand or Springfield 1903 lover - I just gotta know!

(Your current tag line is a 2 edged sword in itself depending upon the observer's definition of "knowledge").

Best wishes Sir!

:beer:

Back-on-topic,

Can't we just blow-up the wells before the seizure or would that create another problem?

(unintended consequences and all).


:biggrin:

[Right Side Up]

Our soldiers should not be spent on this. I'm totally against using them on this, unless the soldiers are paid a big percentage of the spoils, they are all volunteers, and that NEVER happens.

This company decided to do business with a foreign country, and that carries a risk.

[Bama Steve]

We can't just "let this go" can we?

We need to kick some ass or at least threaten too.

If this goes unchallenged . . .

(C'mon, November).

[Right Side Up]

Do the taxpayers (us) own the rigs? Then why should we send our flesh and blood to bail out a company that made a poor business decision?

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of my government bailing out failed businesses.

[Bama Steve]

No argument on that note from me.

None whatsoever.

Its just the principal of the event that bothers me.

A dictator seizing the assets of an American company - it isn't right and should not go unchallenged in my feeble old mind.

[Right Side Up]

Yeah, it bothers me too. What to do about it without spilling our young-un's blood?.....Dunno.

I think we should kick Citgo out of our country. Yeah, that's bad for more American businesses, but again, American businesses that got in bed with the wrong people to start with.

[Bama Steve]

I sense a resurgence of business morality coming-on.

I hope I am right.

Time to become Pat Buchanan's "Isolationist America" as he had predicted we would . . .

[Right Side Up]

*Business* and *Morality*?

Nah.....those two words don't go together.

[Brett]

Well, first the BP rig blows, then obama takes a month to get aroused, then he extorts 20 billion from BP to put in a government pot, then he suspends offshore drilling which would send the rigs to Brazil, then offshore rigs are seized in Venezuela, negating any unused rigs being sent there. Looks like a plan to get totally rid of offshore drilling through law or bankruptcy. I think Chavez and Obama may be best friends. This is the only failure from all the offshore wells in the gulf, and the best way to get the people pissed at offshore drilling and evil corporations is to harm the enviornment and put people out of work. It's also the best way to get cap and trade. Timing is everything, especially to tyrants and thieves. Also don't forget, Obama hates Great Britain for what they did in Kenya, his home.

[martin35]

Venezuela is our 4th largest oil supplier.
US business interests have been in Venezuela since before WWII with large capital investments, our government is supposed to guard the lawful rights of Americans from illegal despotic acts, there was a contract and it is not being honored who else should a American company appeal their case to,,,, The World Court that has no means of enforcing it's edicts? Americans are being robbed.

Are you a Garand or Springfield 1903 lover - I just gotta know!
Garand 8 rounds semi-auto beats 5 bolt action, I never found one more or less accurate than the other, most of my weapons I've sold or given to family (including a '03) but I keep a very used Garand (7.62X51), a G-1 FAL and a new CETME along with 7 pistols of various calibers. I don't shoot much anymore with one fairly good eye and one that see's very little, it would be hard to hit a bad piano player now as I'm also hard of hearing,,,, still I got it better than many others.

[jdluton]

Originally posted by Right Side Up
Do the taxpayers (us) own the rigs? Then why should we send our flesh and blood to bail out a company that made a poor business decision?

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of my government bailing out failed businesses.

Too bad Bill Clinton and the UN put so much pressure on Executive Outcomes to disband.... I think it was precisely this kind of "event" that they kicked so much ass in Angola. Or maybe that was oil refining not drilling......

Anyhow, US soldiers?..... you make a great point.....
The businesses hiring an E.O. type company? Great! :biggrin:
May as well buy American and use Blackwater though.....

[Blackmore]

Originally posted by jdluton
The businesses hiring an E.O. type company? Great! :biggrin:
May as well buy American and use Blackwater though.....

No pesky PC rules of engagement handcuffing the operators that way either.

[L Haney]

Originally posted by Munster30
The Venezuelan government just seized 11 US owned off shore rigs off the Venezuelan coast.


From the article.

"The government-owned oil company will seek National Assembly approval to seize the rigs in Anzoategui state after a payment battle with Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Helmerich & Payne, Rafael Ramirez, oil minister and president of Petroleos de Venezuela, said yesterday in an e-mailed statement."

Sounds to me like it ain't happened just yet.

[Munster30]

Originally posted by RacerRTR
Not sure what the deal is with the link, I'm using FireFox and get a warning page that the site is a known attack page.:( Their site apparently experienced an attack (from somewhere in China). They've since fixed it.

[Heat]

Originally posted by martin35
Venezuela is our 4th largest oil supplier.
US business interests have been in Venezuela since before WWII with large capital investments, our government is supposed to guard the lawful rights of Americans from illegal despotic acts, there was a contract and it is not being honored who else should a American company appeal their case to,,,, The World Court that has no means of enforcing it's edicts? Americans are being robbed.

Are you a Garand or Springfield 1903 lover - I just gotta know!
Garand 8 rounds semi-auto beats 5 bolt action, I never found one more or less accurate than the other, most of my weapons I've sold or given to family (including a '03) but I keep a very used Garand (7.62X51), a G-1 FAL and a new CETME along with 7 pistols of various calibers. I don't shoot much anymore with one fairly good eye and one that see's very little, it would be hard to hit a bad piano player now as I'm also hard of hearing,,,, still I got it better than many others.

My hats off to a guy who likes the M1 Garand..I have owned 4 and all were extremely accurate and very reliable..more so than my FAL's--I would choose a M1 with a Bandoleer (or 2-3) of ammo over other semi autos I have owned--people bitch about the weight but my Cetme's and FAL's were all in the same weight division (is there a light 30cal rifle??)--I have found the sights, stock and action of the M1 Garand to be quite people friendly and recoil quite manageble

[Munster30]

Originally posted by L Haney



From the article.

"The government-owned oil company will seek National Assembly approval to seize the rigs in Anzoategui state after a payment battle with Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Helmerich & Payne, Rafael Ramirez, oil minister and president of Petroleos de Venezuela, said yesterday in an e-mailed statement."

Sounds to me like it ain't happened just yet. General Assembly=Rubber Stamp wielded by ham fisted Hugo.

[martin35]

In our past history America has had to threaten with success to use war powers to get redress, in 1871 Venezuelan insurgents took 3 steam ships, they returned one voluntarily the other two were seized by the Captain of the USS Shawmut under the direction of he Consul General who was on-board.
Today it will probably take Congressional action to retrieve US property.
Congress can Constitutionally pass limited war powers for our Presidents to repel invasions with a incursion of our forces, this has been threatened to Mexico several times and actually preformed there on at least 3 occasions.

Heat, The only failure I recall experiencing in the years I have carried a Garand was a sheared butt stock doing a butt stroke during bayonet practice. Several failure to fire rounds over the years.
Back in the day I stripped and chemically blued a Garand and caught hell for it, now I see some that are chromed.

[FAL freek]

Ya really think Obumbler is gonna take anything away from his Marxist chum in Venezuela? Sounds like Chavez is getting desperate and trying to avert some national attention away from himself. Falklands anyone?

[Stoney]

Martin
I had a M1 blow the back out of the receiver shooting blanks with one of those long BFA in 1958.

[xtremerange]

Those drilling rigs are actually vessels if I remember correctly.

I wonder what flag they fly? Panama, Marianas, Liberia....

[RG Coburn]

Originally posted by Stoney
Martin
I had a M1 blow the back out of the receiver shooting blanks with one of those long BFA in 1958.
Did you by chance use a GL blank?

[Stoney]

What's a GL blank, it had red paper at the tip, I was in Okinawa at the time. They will kill a Habu real quick.

[martin35]

I've heard of that kind of blowback but never witnessed it, I was told that using the grenade launcher could put that kind of stress on the reciever, the grenade being a partial obstruction. GL grenade launcher.

[Blackmore]

Venezuela received 55,670 M1 Garand rifles from the USA prior to 1975. Wonder if Hugo still has them somewhere?

[EinheitElf]

Screw hugo that little bastard.....if the rigs are actually able to move under their own power......the oil co should hire a private team to do the work....those d*****s at black water...errr...'XE' would be good since they have no qualms about violating any rights or laws.....

barring that...if possible shut the wells and sink the rigs....he wants to play hardball let him make and do the work himself......of course china will be there in a hartbeat to help........chinese dont give a shiit about any thing as long as they get what they are after...hell they wouldhave given rawanda cash while the macheting was going on......

..man if there was a way to slice off central and so america from NA that would be great......or cut it off at the rio grand..:mad: ;)

[Deltaten]

Boy , Howdy!! will wonders never cease!
Din't Venezuela (or was it the Argies?) reassign ownership of wells/platforms back in the 70's or something?? I seem ta recall the Saudis did it too. "Nationalization", it was called at the time. Remember about all the Big Oil Co's getting the shaft; but not the well ;)
Martin....help me out here,, who/where was it??

[URBAN ASSAULT]

If this would have happened under President Reagan Venezuela would probably be getting an aircraft carrier parked off their coast within the next couple of weeks, under The Obumbler I doubt there will be even a strongly-worded letter.

Wouldn't want to interfere with the old golf game, you know!

:rolleyes:

-urban

[HughJass]

Split the damn thread into two, would ya? Or is the only thing moderators can do is delete a thread?