The Venezuelan government's decision to nationalise Venoco has been supported by local workers.
Following the announcement in early October that the South American country's government was extending its nationalisation programme to include the independent lubes producer, the Venoco workers' union gathered to offer its support.
According to the union's General Secretary, José Martínez, the state takeover “will bring us many benefits. It will bring a change from the capitalist mode to the socialist mode and we are going to strengthen our company.”
Venoco currently employs some 700 workers, with more than half being union members who have apparently being calling for nationalisation for some time. The company is capable of producing 10,000 metric tons of grease and 90,000 metric tons of oil lubricants annually, as well as additives for the road, agriculture and industrial sectors.
Founded in 1958, Industrias Venoco, C.A. has entered into a number of joint ownerships during its history with companies including Mobil. State-run oil company PDVSA claimed that, before nationalisation, Venoco regularly bought base oil products from PDVSA at state-regulated prices before significantly marking them up as part of their finished products.