BP blames Venezuela's Chavez for shortfall in production

Venezuela's left-wing government is demanding that BP give up an even greater proportion of the oil produced at its fields in the country, as president Hugo Chavez tries to claw back more of the country's oil wealth from multi-national companies.
BP - the UK's largest oil company - said yesterday that it produced less oil in the past three months than many analysts had predicted, leading some to suggest it could miss its production targets for the year.
The company blamed a more aggressive attitude by the Chavez government, which forced the renegotiation of contracts on three of BP's oil fields in Venezuela. It is believed that BP was forced to give up about two-thirds of the oil the fields were producing, handing it instead to the state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
Now a fourth, even more lucrative, contract is also under renegotiation. The field, Cerro Negro, is 83 per cent-owned by Exxon Mobil and PDVSA, but BP still gets an estimated 35,000 barrels per day for its 17 per cent interest, making it its largest single interest in Venezuela.
The Chavez government has been among the most aggressive in pursuing big oil companies for a greater share of the revenues from surging oil prices. Some companies have refused to agree to new terms and given up their interests in the country, but BP said it needed to remain in countries with significant oil reserves.