The "Statization" of the Pre 2001 Primary Hydrocarbons Joint Venture Exploitations: Their Unilateral Termination and the Assets' Confiscation of Some of the Former Private Parties
Article from: OGEL 2 (2008), in Venezuela
Introduction
When the 2001 Organic Hydrocarbons Law (OHL) was passed, private companies in Venezuela were able to participate and did in fact par-ticipate in primary hydrocarbons activities in two ways provided un-der the 1975 Law Reserving to the State the Industry and Commerciali-zation of Hydrocarbons: Operating Agreements and Exploration at Risk and Profit Sharing Agreements which where subscribed with State-owned oil companies in the nineties. The latter Law was repealed by the former in 2001, but in light of the general principle regarding the non-retroactive nature of laws (Article 24 ...