Venezuela soldiers seize oil service companies

Tightening his grip ! To say the least !   How about further Establishing Communism ?  Isn't that more like what he is doing !

MARACAIBO, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan soldiers on Thursday took control of boatyards and other assets belonging to oil service companies in the latest step by socialist President Hugo Chavez to tighten his grip on the industry.

Earlier in the day, Venezuela's legislature approved a law allowing the nationalization of a group of oil service companies. Chavez said the takeovers would quickly start in the Lake Maracaibo oil heartland in the western state of Zulia.

"Tomorrow, we will start to recuperate assets and goods that will now belong to the state, as social property, as they should always have been," Chavez said, adding that thousands of workers would be taken on by state oil company PDVSA.

But members of a Zulia business group that represents local oil firms told Reuters soldiers seized the installations of 20 companies on the eastern side of the lake late on Thursday.

The law makes it easier for the government to later seize assets owned by service giants such as Halliburton and Schlumberger as state oil company PDVSA builds up billions of dollars in debts with contractors amid low oil prices.

The socialist president nationalized oil projects worth billions of dollars two years ago and is now moving against smaller service companies that the government has struggled to pay as crude revenues fell in recent months.