The tax hike from 34 percent to 50 percent on heavy oil operations imposed by the Venezuelan National Assembly has ExxonMobil worried.
The "unilateral decisions taken by the Venezuelan government to change the fiscal terms of the Cerro Negro strategic association agreement, which the National Assembly approved" is a matter of concern for the company.
The company holds a 41.7% stake in the 120,000 barrels-a-day Cerro Negro project, one of four heavy-oil Orinoco Belt joint-ventures between international oil companies and the state-owned giant Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.
The country's government is looking to hold a majority stake in the Orinoco oil projects by December. The new tax could bring in between $700 and $800 million to the government.
ExxonMobil relations with the Venezuelan government have soured in recent times as Chavez has sought to reassert the role of the state in the vital oil industry.
The four projects in the Orinoco area are jointly run by PDVSA along with ExxonMobil, Total SA (TOT), ConocoPhillips (COP), Chevron Corp. (CVX), Statoil ASA (STO) and BP PLC (BP).
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