Dozens of oil companies are said to be in a strong position to seek compensation from the Venezuelan government after it seized control of operations in the country.
Aberdeen-based firm John Wood Group is among numerous companies, including Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Helmerich and Payne, which have had work halted.
The government of President Hugo Chavez has seized control of key assets in Lake Maracaibo as part of the nationalisation of service providers to the oil industry, including the port’s leading tug operators.
The private companies operating there are all owed millions of pounds in unpaid debts since the oil price collapsed in September last year.
Soldiers have occupied key installations on Lake Maracaibo, and yesterday state-owned oil company PDVSA began to take control of a fleet of 300 supply boat crews, tugs and barges involved in providing services to the oil industry.
The military moved in on the installations after the approval of a new law which opens the way for the widespread nationalisation of service providers to the energy sector in the world’s seventh largest oil exporter.
Wood Group has a 49.5% interest in the SIMCO consortium, which has a contract to manage water injection for the state oil company.
A company spokeswoman said it may seek compensation from the Latin American government.
“The contract has been taken over by PDVSA following the consortium submitting a notice of default due to non-payment and other contractual disputes,” she said.
“We should be in a strong contractual position to recover money which is due.”
Venezuela’s Minister for Energy and Mines Rafael Ramirez said the move would see 8,000 workers incorporated into the ranks of the oil company.
“There are sectors that are indispensable to guarantee oil production in our country, that have been identified by the law, for example in Lake Maracaibo.
“If we do not have control of the launches and the crew boats there is no way that we can produce oil in the lake,” he said.
Venezuela ships 1.9million barrels of oil a day.