Venezuela ? President Hugo Chavez has tightened his grip on Venezuela’s energy resources, following through on threats to punish international companies that resist government control of the nation’s oil fields.

Venezuela seized two oil fields from France’s Total SA and Italy’s Eni SpA after the companies failed to comply with a government demand that operations be turned over to state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Monday.

“Those two companies resisted adjusting to our laws,” he said at a news conference. “Those fields return to total, absolute control by Petroleos de Venezuela.”

Until PDVSA took control of the oil fields Saturday, Total and Eni had operated them under contract. Some other companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp., decided to sell their stakes among the 32 Venezuelan oil properties rather than go along with the new terms.