Luxembourg-based Tenaris, a tube and pipe manufacturer for the energy products market, said Tuesday that the government of Venezuela will expropriate all of the assets of Tenaris' Matesi, a Venezuela-based HBI facility. In a press release, Tenaris announced that Venezuela's President Chavez issued Decree 8280/2011, which order the "expropriation of Matesi's assets as may be required for the implementation of a state-owned project for the production sale and distribution of briquettes."
Tenaris said that while it is prepared to negotiate with the Venezuelan government on the matter, Tenaris is concerned with the lack of progress in the discussions on compensation since Venezuela announced in 2009 that it is nationalizing Matesi. Tenaris added that it "continues to reserve all of its rights under Venezuelan and international law, including investment treaties, and will take legal actions against Venezuela to seek prompt, fair and adequate compensation for its entire interest (including assets and liabilities) in Matesi."