TheDaily Jounal Page 3
Petroleum chamber to niark 10th a niversary
By Psyche Pascual
Daily Joúrnal Staff
A group representing
private petroleum companies
will celebrate its 10th an-
niversary Wednesday amid
growing debate over its
participation in the country's
nationalized oil industry.
The Venezuelan Petroleum
Chamber will celebrate a de-
cade of existence during a
daylong forum at the Hotel
Tamanaco on the oil industry_
and its future, called "Vene-
zuela and Petroleum : the 21st
Century."
The chamber represents
more than 200 private com-
panies that supply goods or
services to the domestic pet-
roleum, petrochemical and
coa! firms run by gov-
ernment-operated Petroleos
de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA).
Created in May 1978, two
Edgard Romero Nava
years after the oil industry
nationalized, the chamber
today represents companies
that generate more than
40,000 jobs directly and an
additional 150,000 jobs indi-
rectly.
A host of Venezuelan and
international oil officials are
Tuesday,May 24, 1988
scheduled to meet to discuss leading industry.
whether private petroleum Certain PDVSA oil sub-
companies, such as those rep- sidiaries, Pequiven for
resented by the chamber, will ex_ample, have allowed
be able to participate in pnvate overseas companies
future business ventures with to invest in areas where
PDVSA and its subsidiary domestic companies are
companies. legally barred.
The chamber is also expect- One of the main topics for
ed to present this week a W ednesday' s forum is
book outlining their activities "Participation of Private Ve-
over the past decade, called nezuelan Companies in the
"History of the Venezuelan lnternationalization of Pet-
Petroleum Chamber." roleum."
Among the stated goals of Chamber President Edgard
the chamber are: to open ,Romero Nava will open the
doors for more participation first decyate of the day at 8
for its members, to create a.m. on "Interaction between
more jobs, to substitute im- the State Petroleum Sector
ports and to genera te and the Venezuelan Pet-
exports. roleum Chamber."
Recently, . howéver, pet- Presidential candidates
roleum officials. have been Carlos Andres Perez and
calling for reforms in the 1Eduardo Fernandez are also
state's hydrÓcarbon law that iexpected to state their posi-
would. allow for more prívate tion on the. internationaliza-
participation in Venezuela' s tion of the 011mdustry.