BODY: (BNamericas.com) - Some six million liters of petrol were distributed to service stations in and around Venezuela's capital Caracas on Monday as the government of President Hugo Chavez fought to prevent the onset of serious fuel shortages, local daily El Nacional reported.
The fuel was successfully distributed despite "sabotage attempts" from a group of managers at state oil company PDVSA, the paper cited company president Ali Rodriguez Araque as saying.
The managers brought some refineries to a standstill and PDVSA fuel tankers joined the strike, preventing the departure by sea of important crude shipments to the US. "We are facing the threat of the industry being paralyzed, but we have mechanisms to fight back and we are doing so," Rodriguez said, adding, "the losses are very large."
If PDVSA does not fulfill its obligations, its creditors could demand the immediate payment of up to US $ 6bn in debts. It could also affect cash flow and the company's ability to pay workers' wages, Rodriguez said.
As a result of this threat, credit ratings agency Moody's has put the credit ratings of various securities linked to Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA on review for possible downgrade (see separate story).
The ability of the government to maintain fuel supplies and prevent the country from grinding to a halt seems now to be entering a critical phase. Local media reported that several service stations in Caracas closed after running out of gasoline, and there are long queues outside those remaining open as motorists begin panic buying.
The governor of the northeastern state of Lara, Luis Reyes Reyes, declared an energy emergency due to fuel supply problems, and in Zulia state 70% of the petrol pumps were closed Monday, El Nacional reported.
However, none of the refineries or service stations belonging to PDVSA's Citgo subsidiary in the US have been affected, government news agency Venpres said.
Some nine days into a general strike that organizers now say will be continued indefinitely, Venezuela appears to be slowly running out of fuel supplies - this despite having the world's largest proven oil reserves outside the Middle East.
With neither side seemingly prepared to back down, and the divisions and hostility more evident than ever, it is difficult to forecast just how matters will end, or just what the long-term effects will be on Venezuela's oil industry and society at large.
Business News Americas (BNamericas.com) -- Yoshie
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