Venezuela condemns US sanctions on oil company
CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez's government condemned U.S. sanctions imposed on Venezuela's state oil company for doing business with Iran, saying it is evaluating how fuel shipments might be affected.
Industry analysts, however, said the sanctions announced Tuesday probably won't significantly cut into the business of Petroleos de Venezuela SA because Washington is not preventing PDVSA from selling crude to the United States or through Citgo, its U.S. subsidiary. Venezuela is one of the United States' main suppliers of petroleum. "The sanctions would have only modest real impact on today's undertakings by PDVSA," said Gustavo Coronel, an energy consultant and former PDVSA executive. "The real significance has to be found in the psychological, political effect of the measure." "It constitutes the first real move of the Obama government against Chavez's Venezuela," Coronel said.