Venezuela Seizes 11 Tidewater Vessels

ALAN SAYRE

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Tidewater Inc., a water transportation company that serves the petroleum industry, said Thursday that Venezuela's state oil company has seized 11 of its vessels and an operations base.

Venezuela is nationalizing 60 oil contractors as President Hugo Chavez moves to assert control over the industry. The state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, said Tuesday that it has taken control of 90 percent of oil contractors on western Lake Maracaibo as it aims to reduce costs due to falling crude prices.

During a conference call with investment analysts, Tidewater's chief financial officer, Quinn Fanning said that in addition to losing the ships and operations base on Lake Maracaibo to PDVSA, Tidewater is owed $40 million in unpaid bills for its pre-seize services to the company.

PDVSA, has recently clashed with domestic and foreign service providers, falling behind on billions of dollars in payments as it aims to cut costs by 40 percent. Venezuela's Energy Ministry says PDVSA's unpaid invoices jumped 145 percent last year over 2007, to reach $13.9 billion in December.

Tidewater has a fleet of over 400 vessels the transport personnel, equipment and supplies to offshore petroleum projects. Western Lake Maracaibo is an oil-rich region.