Sincor Company Venezuela's extra-heavy crude joint-venture of Totalfinaelf, Statoil, and PDVSA shut temporarily t the plant Wednesday due to a series of labor related situations. A Sincor official said Wednesday.
The local newspapers reported on Thursday, that the labor situation in the plant made following "labor problems" with discontent workers, made the conditions to close the plant until a meeting with labor representativescan be arrange.
Dow Jones News Wires reported that disgruntled workers first complained about the condition of national flags at the facility and later complained of safety hazards.
Tuesday, workers staged a march with marches "management decided to shut the plant "until a necessary environment of dialog and security can be created to continue with operations.
" The $4 billion project employs about 10,000 workers. He said he was surprised by the workers security complaints, adding that Sincor has a "low index" of accidents.
The shutdown is costing the company about $1 million a day, Oswaldo Castillo a spokesman for Sincor said to Dow Jones on Wednesday.
Sincor, one of Venezuela's four extra-heavy crude joint-ventures, was slated to begin production of 40,000 barrels a day by the end of this year, and double that sometime in 2001.
Sincor plant is a consortium where France's Totalfina-Elf has a 47 percent stake, while Venezuelan state-oil PDVSA holds a 38 percent stake and Norwegian state-owned Statoil, controls the remaining 15 percent equity interest.
An upgrade under construction should be in place by 2002, by which time crude production at Sincor should amount to some 180,000 b/d.
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
