Venezuela tightens oil grip
Powering ahead with stringent nationalist reforms, Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela is showing multinational oil firms little mercy. Tense relations between private firms and Mr. Chávez’s government escalated last week when the government seized fields operated by two European oil giants – France’s Total and Italy’s ENI – after the two companies snubbed government demands to convert their contracts to joint ventures with the state by April 1. Full Story