ANALYSIS-Venezuela energy clients subject to Chavez whims

By Brian Ellsworth

CARACAS, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Venezuela's decision to halt asphalt exports and unilaterally change oil payment terms are new signs that the OPEC nation's energy deals can at any moment be upended by the whims of leftist President Hugo Chavez.

The former soldier on Sunday said Venezuela would cut all asphalt exports to improve domestic infrastructure [ID:nN13364901], just days after Venezuela announced it was cutting the payment time for oil cargoes to eight days from the industry-standard 30 days [ID:nN08521603].

The announcements follow a barrage of contract changes in recent years as part of Chavez's energy sector overhaul, and come less than a year after Venezuela pushed Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and ConocoPhillips (COP.N) out of multibillion-dollar oil projects.

"The changes add a great deal of unpredictability to future commercial dealings with Venezuela and make markets uneasy about the sanctity of contracts going forward," said Patrick Esteruelas, an analyst with Eurasia Group in New York.

Since 2004 Chavez has startled investors with retroactive tax hikes, unilateral royalty increases and abrupt policy changes that forced companies to become minority partners in operations they once ran.

He has also unnerved markets by frequently threatening to cut off oil sales to the United States, which depends on Venezuela for around 12 percent of its crude imports -- though Chavez has never acted on this threat.

Still, Venezuela recently amended an oil supply contract with Conoco so that state oil company PDVSA can halt sales if Chavez declares an embargo against the United States.

The continuing changes come as PDVSA is facing growing operational problems that analysts attribute to its excessive involvement in social development efforts ranging from maintaining roads to producing and distributing food.