Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela intends to take control of ``no less than 60 percent'' of four heavy-crude-oil joint ventures in the country's eastern Orinoco Belt by May 1, President Hugo Chavez said.

State-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA, South America's largest oil company, will add 4,000 of the employees currently working for the ventures to its payroll, Chavez said today in a televised press conference in Caracas. The four projects turn tar-like oil into about 600,000 barrels of synthetic oil a day.

``I have imparted clear instructions that as of May 1 all those fields will wake up under our control,'' Chavez said at a press conference at the presidential palace in Caracas. ``We want to negotiate but the instruction is clear.''

Chavez also said a takeover of power companies as part of his nationalization plans will take place ``pretty soon.'' Chavez announced the timeframe of the seizures a day after lawmakers granted him decree powers for 18 months to transform Venezuela into a socialist economy.

The projects may be seized if no agreement is reached before the end of April, Oil and Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said, when asked by reporter about Chavez' earlier remarks.

Venezuela, a founding member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter. The takeover of the four ventures may affect firms including Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips and BP Plc., and has been attacked by U.S. President George W. Bush and other heads of state.

Exxon Comment

Referring to the negotiations, Exxon Mobil spokesman Henry Hubble told investors that talks with the Venezuelan government continue over the nationalization plan. The ``ball is in Venezuela's court,'' Hubble said in a conference call.

``To me, it sounds like provocation,'' Ramirez said, referring to Hubble's comments.

Chavez said that he plans to respect the stockholdings of individual investors, and to protect mutual funds where Venezuelan workers keep their savings. Chavez announced the seizure of CA Electricidad de Caracas and CA Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela, two of the five most-traded companies in the Caracas Stock Exchange. The announcement wiped out $3 billion of market value in Venezuela's stock market.

Chavez, who last year raised royalties on foreign oil companies and forced some into joint ventures with the state, today sharpened calls to extend the state's involvement in the economy to improve basic services, foster economic growth and cut poverty. Bush yesterday said that Chavez's almost full control of congress and courts means the nationalization would face little resistance and threatens to whittle away democracy.

``Here in Venezuela and in other countries where we are trying to construct democracy, they dismiss us as dictators,'' Chavez said. ``Who is more of a fascist? Hitler or Bush? That's a healthy competition.''

Venezuela may face millions of dollars in penalties related to securities held by banks and bondholders as it seeks to win a majority stake in the oil joint ventures. The rights of banks and bondholders, which own around $6 billion in financing tied to the projects, would be respected in the event of changes in ownership, executives of the state oil company, known as PDVSA, have said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Theresa Bradley in Caracas at tbradley7@bloomberg.net; Guillermo Parra-Bernal in Caracas at gparra@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 1, 2007 17:58 EST