Expat Village is edited and published by Iain Williams in Caracas
and Porlamar, Margarita Island, Venezuela.
A Dow Jones wire story
CARACAS -(Dow Jones)- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez confirmed plans Wednesday to do away with intermediaries in the local gasoline business while expanding the role of Petroleos de Venezuela SA in fuel distribution.
Foreign and domestic gasoline intermediaries "will simply disappear, and PdVSA" will directly handle business with service stations around the country, Chavez said during a live televised address from the Miraflores presidential palace.
"We have decided to move ahead with this," Chavez said.
Service stations, he said, will remain in private hands, but PdVSA will assume the role filled until now by companies such as BP PLC (BP), Chevron Corp.'s ( CVX) Texaco and a number of local companies.
Lawmakers are now analyzing the law that will allow the government to take over the assets of these intermediaries, according to a copy of the law posted in the National Assembly's Web site.
Rafael Ramirez, Venezuela's oil minister, added that PdVSA will gradually move to establish relationships with the 1,254 service stations that are now supplied by these privately-owned companies.
Venezuela now has 1,854 service stations around the country and only 600 of these or 40%, Chavez said, are serviced by PdVSA.
Foreign companies have complained in the past of the low margins obtained in the local gasoline distribution business.
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Expat Village is edited and published by Iain Williams in Caracas
and Porlamar, Margarita Island, Venezuela.
