Chevron executives just got a lot more nervous two days ago when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced a sweeping new program to nationalize key industries, including telecommunications, electricity, and many oil upgrading projects. According to the Times ‘(UK) Latin American correspondent Thomas Catan, Chevron and other oil industry officials are working the phones in Caracas, trying to figure out whether Chavez means future oil projects or all existing facilities. Meanwhile, on Wall Street …
… Chevron has warned investors not to expect more record-breaking profits for the last quarter of 2006. Crude oil prices dropped dramatically, and the company’s natural and liquid natural gas production has surprisingly dropped. According to the Houston Chronicle, the San Ramon oil giant made a staggering profit of $5 billion in the third quarter of 2006. But early reports indicate that the company will not do nearly as well to cap the end of the year.
