Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), ranking minority member of the Foreign Relations Committee, on Feb. 13 after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened to cut off oil shipments to the United States and declared that Venezuela would halt shipments to all Exxon Mobil Corp. refineries:
"I urge the government of Venezuela to maintain this discussion within the legal framework that Exxon Mobil and Venezuela's state-run oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), chose to resolve their differences.
"I encourage them to resolve this dispute without further disruption to global oil markets. Stability in oil supplies being traded freely in the global marketplace is vital to the interests of both importing countries and exporting countries.
"The consequences of Venezuela no longer being seen as a reliable trading partner could be catastrophic for its domestic production, particularly as it attempts to develop technically-challenging heavy oil reserves.
"Even more importantly, the people of Venezuela could suffer tremendously and its economy could be crippled if oil revenues are lost. This was highlighted in the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report I requested three years ago."
