Tough talk is in response to Exxon Mobil's attempts in court to win assets of state oil company.
"If you end up freezing (Venezuelan assets) and it harms us, we're going to harm you," Chavez said. "Do you know how? We aren't going to send oil to the United States. Take note, Mr. Bush, Mr. Danger."
Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500) has gone after the assets of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA in U.S., British and Dutch courts as it challenges the nationalization of a multibillion dollar oil project by Chavez's government.
A British court has issued an injunction "freezing" as much as $12 billion in assets.
"I speak to the U.S. empire, because that's the master: continue and you will see that we won't sent one drop of oil to the empire of the United States," Chavez said during his weekly radio and television program, "Hello, President."
"The outlaws of Exxon Mobil will never again rob us," Chavez said, accusing the Irving, Texas-based oil company of acting in concert with Washington.
Chavez has repeatedly threatened to cut off oil shipments to the United States, which is Venezuela's No. 1 client, if Washington tries to oust him. Chavez's warnings on Sunday appeared to extend that threat to attempts by oil companies to challenge his government's nationalization drive in courts internationally.
"If the economic war continues against Venezuela, the price of oil is going to reach $200 (a barrel) and Venezuela will join the economic war," Chavez said. "And more than one country is willing to accompany us in the economic war."
Exxon Mobil spokeswoman Margaret Ross said the company had no comment. A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman in Caracas did not return a call.
The U.S. imported 1.23 million barrels of crude oil a day from Venezuela in November, making it the fourth-biggest source of oil imports behind Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Energy Department.
Those four countries, along with Nigeria, accounted for 74 percent of U.S. crude oil imports in November, the government said. By itself, Venezuela accounted for about 12% of U.S. crude imports, the figures showed.
Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez has argued that court orders won by Exxon Mobil have "no effect" on the state oil company PDVSA and are merely "transitory measures" while Venezuela presents its case in courts in New York and London.
Exxon Mobil is also taking its claims to international arbitration, disputing the terms it was granted under Chavez's nationalization last year of four heavy oil projects in the Orinoco River basin, one of the world's richest oil deposits.
Other major oil companies including U.S.-based Chevron Corp., France's Total, Britain's BP PLC, and Norway's StatoilHydro ASA have negotiated deals with Venezuela to continue on as minority partners in the Orinoco oil project.
ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil, however, balked at the tougher terms and have been in compensation talks with PDVSA.
Gas prices pull back
Background
Big oil tanks up: Exxon's profit nears $10B
Thursday, ExxonMobil (XOM) became the most stark example yet of how much big oil companies benefited from the huge run-up in oil prices during the third quarter even as two major hurricanes ripped through the industry's Gulf Coast infrastructure. Exxon reported:
• Net income up 75% to $9.92 billion. That is the most a U.S. company has earned from operations in a three-month period and greater than the annual gross domestic product of entire nations including Cameroon and Zimbabwe.
• Revenue up 32% to $100.7 billion. That is greater than the annual GDP of all but just 38 of the world's economies.
Exxon illustrates the energy's sector's tremendous profit amid record-high energy prices. The industry is on pace to earn $96 billion this year — more than what the USA's industrial and telecom companies will earn, combined, says Standard & Poor's based on members of the S&P 500 index. (Vote: Are oil companies' high profits justified?)
And it's not just ExxonMobil that's raking it in. Royal Dutch Shell reported net income up 68% to $9 billion Thursday. Earlier this week, BP (BP) reported a $6.5 billion third-quarter profit and ConocoPhillips (COP) a $3.8 billion profit. Today, ChevronTexaco (CVX) is expected to post 53% higher earnings of $3.9 billion, says Reuters Estimates.
The massive profit gains were widely expected giving the soaring price of oil. The price of a barrel of oil hit a record $70 during the third quarter and, even though it has backed off to $60.80 currently is still up 40% in 2005.
It's not as if the industry didn't have difficulties with the damage of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In fact, ExxonMobil said oil production fell 5% during the third quarter and natural-gas production fell 9%.
But those disruptions had little effect on the flow of oil companies' profits.
"The strong commodity price offset any affect of the hurricane," says analyst Lysle Brinker at John S. Herold.
That's because oil companies were selling gasoline to wholesalers at record prices. The profits from were more than enough to offset any hit the big oil companies suffered when the price of oil and gas rose faster than they could boost the price of gas sold at their own company-owned stations, says Tina Vital, oil stock analyst at S&P.
Vital says the difference between the price of oil and the price ExxonMobil charges wholesalers hit a record. But, due to public outcry and consumer sticker shock at the pump, Vital says the company charged less than their cost for gasoline during the period.
Meanwhile, the oil industry has tried to soften criticism of its current boom times by pointing out the cyclical nature of its business.
Government data backs that up. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that although the 20 big oil companies it tracks earned a combined $22.55 billion last quarter, those same 20 companies, together, earned only $1.59 billion in the fourth quarter of 2001.
In fact, Big Oil was weathering tough times then, reporting combined quarterly profits of less than $10 billion from the third quarter 2001 through the fourth quarter of '02.
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