CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela 's state oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) said Tuesday that crude production levels had reached 100 percent, as expected, according to a Dow Jones report.
Production levels dropped through last week due to a work slowdown by managers and other staff who were protesting the government's installation of some new directors to the company's board. President Hugo Chavez--who was temporarily ousted from office, but returned to power after two days--said he accepted the resignations of the offending directors.
Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Ali Rodriguez, said Tuesday that Chavez hasn't asked him to be the next president of PDVSA; however, speaking to reporters after a meeting with Chavez at the Miraflores Presidential Palace, Rodriguez said his presence as company president could solve current labor and management problems within the company.
Referring to his possible appointment to the post, Rodriguez said: "It's a problem you need to study very cautiously, because it would mean an early break from OPEC. But the most important thing is that the simple presence of a person, like in my case, could solve the problems of a magnitude such as that of PDVSA."
Rodriguez said he doesn't feel inclined to take the post, but said he is willing to consider it to put the country's interest above his own. Chavez said he accepted PDVSA's current president Gaston Parra's and the other company directors' resignations last week, but hasn't yet formalized them.
