Venezuela confirms Conoco project take-over

Venezuela said on Tuesday it has taken full ownership of ConocoPhillips' Petrozuata project as part of President Hugo Chavez's campaign to nationalise the heavy crude projects of the Orinoco Belt.
State oil company PDVSA did not specify what would happen to Conoco's stake in its other Orinoco project, Ameriven. A source close to the company on Monday told Reuters Conoco was going to quit the Opec nation entirely. PDVSA added Statoil, BP Plc, Total and Chevron Corp had signed deals to stay on in Venezuela, taking minority stakes in their Orinoco projects.