MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mexico ? Oil / Venezuela - Court

Mexico could increase oil production in the event of a war in Iraq, the director of state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) said yesterday.

"War in Iraq would have an unsettling effect on the oil markets. We would hope it would be only temporary and that the stability we worked so hard to achieve would be restored," according to Pemex boss Raul Muñoz. "Mexico could increase production" in the event of a conflict, he added. The head of Pemex, the world's fifth-largest oil producer and Mexico's largest state-owned enterprise, declined to say how large any production increase would be. Muñoz participated Saturday in an energy roundtable at the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, being held in the Mexican resort of Los Cabos. He said that in the long term, Mexico intends to double its oil output and triple its natural gas production to achieve "self-sufficiency and become a net exporter." Pemex currently contributes about 35 percent of Mexico's public revenue and its directors have often complained that the company is burdened by excessive taxes and fees, depriving it of funds for investment. Muñoz said the company was aiming at increasing the oil output by a million barrels a day by 2006. In addition, the company will work to determine Mexico's total reserves, as only 14 percent of the country's territory has been explored for hydrocarbons. Muñoz estimated that Mexico's potential reserves were sufficient to ensure supply for more than 40 years. Between January and September, Pemex produced an average of 3.16 million barrels of oil and 4.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Venezuelan att'y gen'l quashes move to arrest rebel officers

Venezuelan Attorney general Isaias Rodriguez on Saturday described as "illegal" an order issued by a judge in this capital for the arrest of 43 civilians and military officers who have voiced public support for a military mutiny

Rodriguez said the investigation begun Friday by Judge Leon Villanueva was "not in keeping with the law." Villanueva said Saturday that he had ordered police to bring the 43 individuals before him to respond to his allegation they had caused at least a partial rupture of the constitutional order by proclaiming they do not recognize the authority of President Hugo Chavez. The attorney general, however, urged the police "not to comply with any of those orders." "They are not obliged to carry out any of those orders," Rodriguez told Globovision television network, stressing that he was speaking with the full authority of his position as attorney general. He denied that his office was failing to react to an appeal for civil and military "disobedience and rebellion" issued Tuesday by a group of high-ranking officers. Villanueva cited the attorney general's alleged inaction as his reason for launching a probe on his own initiative. Rodriguez said he began "an investigation on Oct. 22 when the incidents took place," and that it was only the cumbersome nature of legal proceedings that made the action of his office appear tardy or deficient. Fourteen generals and admirals went on national television Tuesday to declare their defiance of President Hugo Chavez and call for civilian disobedience and military rebellion. The group of dissident officers, some of whom were tried for participating in April's short-lived ouster of Chavez, have remained in the downtown plaza since Tuesday, surrounded by hundreds of supporters demanding the president's immediate departure and the holding of fresh elections. A number of other active and retired officers have joined the 14 generals and admirals in the plaza to demand that Chavez leave office. The mutinous generals and admirals called for civil disobedience and military rebellion, citing Article 350 of the constitution, which allows Venezuelans to reject "any regime, law or authority that contravenes democratic principles and safeguards, or violates human rights." Commanders of military bases and garrisons throughout the country Friday proclaimed their "respect for the constitution and support for the legitimately constituted government." On April 11, senior military officers briefly removed Chavez from office after the shooting deaths of a score of demonstrators near the presidential palace. A provisional government was installed under the leadership of businessman Pedro Carmona, but key military commanders withdrew recognition from the new regime and Chavez was restored to power within 48 hours.