LAHT/ Struggling with lower oil production and the recalcitrant oil services company Helmerich and Payne, President Hugo Chavez announced the takeover of the Tulsa-based company's 11 idle drilling rigs after a months-long payment dispute. “There is a sector that owns rigs that has refused to discuss rates for service with PDVSA and has preferred to keep the equipment in storage in Anaco for a year; that is the specific case of the Helmerich & Payne (HP) company, a U.S. transnational,”said Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez. The National Assembly will have to declare the rigs public assets so the government can take control of them. HP said that they had finished their projects in 2009 and were awaiting payment on over $43 million owed by PDVSA from last year.
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