State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said it is seeking increased compensation from the Venezuelan government for oil assets seized in 2007.
A payment of US$125 million that Venezuela put forward is too low, John Hsu (徐永耀), chief executive of the refiner’s exploration and production division, said in Taipei yesterday.
The company owns 6.5 percent in the Corocoro oilfield, which produces about 20,000 barrels of oil a day, he said.
“We aren’t satisfied with the offer,” Hsu said.
The Venezuelan government suspended CPC’s rights in the field in February 2007 under a takeover order issued by President Hugo Chavez, he said.
The refiner, which has investments in Africa, Southeast Asia, the US, Australia and Latin America, wants to cut crude import costs by acquiring overseas oil assets, the company said in January.
It is also drilling wells on Taiwan and off its coast.
CPC has invested US$78.7 million in the Corocoro field in the Gulf of Paria West and US$7 million for 7.5 percent in Paria East, which had not started production, he said.
The Taipei-based company will seek international arbitration if talks with the Venezuelan government fail, he said.
CPC operates 42 oil and gas wells in Taiwan and plans to drill three this year, it said in a report to lawmakers on March 16.
The company is also jointly searching for oil and gas in the Taiwan Strait with Beijing-based China National Offshore Oil Corp (中海油).
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