(Adds background on recall vote process)
By Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - Venezuela's petroleum exports will not be disrupted by protests surrounding the August recall referendum on the South American country's president, its ambassdor to the U.S. said on Thursday.
Some energy analysts fear another general workers' strike could hit the world's fifth-largest oil exporter if embattled Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez won a recall vote set for August 15. Venezuela is the third-biggest foreign supplier of crude oil and gasoline to the U.S. market.
"There is no possibility today of stopping (oil) production," Venezuelan Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez told Reuters in an interview.
Alvarez said a repeat of the December 2002 workers' strike at the PDVSA state oil company to protest the Chavez government is less likely now because most of the workers involved in that strike were fired. Current PDVSA employees realize the oil revenue is needed to run the country, he said.
"Possibilities of any stoppage in PDVSA (oil) today are very limited," said Alvarez. "I don't see really the possibility of using oil, or the company, as a political tool."
During the strike that nearly shut down PDVSA's operations from late 2002 through early 2003, Venezuela's oil shipments to the United States fell to a trickle, reducing U.S. crude inventories and pushing up petroleum prices.
Alvarez said there is a strong feeling among most Venezuelans not to support another strike that would cut off the valuable oil exports.
"The country suffered too much (last time)," he said.
The oil industry is the mainstay of the Venezuelan economy, accounting for more than 75 percent of the country's export revenues, about half of total government revenues and one-third of gross domestic product.
The government is not taking any precautionary steps to ensure that Venezuela's oil keeps flowing, such as preloading extra tankers with crude or storing more petroleum products at PDVSA's refineries, Alvarez said.
He said the Bush administration does not appear to be worried about a possible disruption in Venezuelan oil exports, as U.S. officials have not raised the issue with him.
The ambassador said he thinks there will be more energy investments in Venezuela after the recall referendum because foreign oil companies will welcome the certainty in the country's political situation.
Alvarez said foreign companies are already planning announcements in several weeks about new investments in Venezuela.
He would not provide details, except to say one of the projects would involve building a new oil refinery in Venezuela.
Finally, Alvarez said he had no plans to leave his current post to become Venezuela's next Minister of Energy and Mines. Several media reports have said Chavez wants to move Alvarez into that spot, but Alvarez said he has not had any such discussions with Chavez's office.
Venezuela's opposition movement pushed for the referendum on Chavez's presidency. Since taking office in 1998, Chavez's social reforms have been criticized by the opposition, who fear he wants to copy the communist policies of Cuba.
If he is recalled, a new presidential election will be held within 30 days and Chavez can again run for the office.