() Houston – Drilling company, Pride International (NYSE: PDE), has distanced itself from former Venezuela Country Manager Joe Summers after the SEC levied charges against the John Day Oregon man for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in paying $343,000 to individuals to extend oil contracts through mid-July, 2010.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez had nationalized oil production which placed Pride International in jeopary of losing valuable contracts which allegedly prompted Pride’s former Country Manager to pay cash bribes to individuals who told Summers they could get Pride’s contracts extended for a mere $60,000 per month.

The complaint alleges that from approximately 2003 to 2005, Summers authorized or allowed payments totaling approximately $384,000 to third-party companies believing that all or a portion of the funds would be given to an official of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company in order to secure extensions of three drilling contracts. The complaint further alleges that Summers authorized the payment of approximately $30,000 to a third party believing that all or a portion of the funds would be given to an employee of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company in order to obtain the payment of receivables.

Summers neither admited tnor denied the charges and agreed to pay a find of $25,000 in civil penalties and accept a permanent injunction.

Pride has not commented and its investors seemed to shrug off the whole ordeal with PDE’s shares gaining 6 cents, or 0.23%, to close at $25.94 Friday.

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Tags: Pride, Pride International