COMPANY MEETING
VENEZUELAN OIL CONCESSIONS
THE NEW TERMS
THE twenty-eighth ordinary general meeting of the Venezuelan Oil Concessions, Limited, was held in London.
Sir Andrew Agnew, C.B.E , the chairman in the course of his pre- viously circulated statement, said that the profit of the year 1943 was ti,o99,54o, as compared with £1,256,668 for 1942. The difficulties in
offtake which had occurred in 1942, and which restricted the output in the year, had not been experienced to the game extent in 1943. On the
other hand, they had been operating for most of 1943 under the terms of the new Venezuelan Law of Hydrocarbons, with consequent increased surface and production taxes.
Referring to the reserve set up to cover deferred maintenance, he said that that policy had now been followed for three years. The shortage of
materials and the necessity to conserve expenditure arising from war- time conditions had resulted in their existing buildings and other per- manent installations not receiving the usual upkeep and repairs. When 't became possible to return to more normal conditions there would be tome leeway to be made up, and they had considered it prudent to rovide for that out of profits in advance of the actual date when it could be required. That was one of the reasons why it was desirable
Or them to maintain substantial liquid assets. Their investments, deposits ad cash as at December 31st, 1943, totalled £2,484,399. Included in that figure was a sum of some L480,000 held in Bolivares in Venezuela against additional taxation obligations accrued under the new Law of Hydro- =bons in previous months, all of which had since been liquidated.
During the present year their actual financial position would be affected 5y a recent arrangement which they and the other oil companies operating n Venezuela had made with the Venezuelan Government, whereby for he time being, at the latter's request, they borrowd a substantial pro- ;onion of their Bolivar requirements instead of obtaining Bolivares by `he sale of foreign drafts. Those loans were repayable at comparatively hors notice.
SECURITY OF TENURE.
Although the revised terms of the concessions became applicable as rota March 13th, 1943, their new concessions ran for a period of 4o years mom December 24th, 1943, with the right of renewal on terms to be egotiated.
The report was adopted.
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