EXHIBIT 31.1

I, Peter J. Hill, certify that:

      1.    I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Harvest
            Natural Resources, Inc.;

      2.    Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
            statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
            necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
            under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect
            to the period covered by this report;

      3.    Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
            information included in this report, fairly present in all material
            respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash
            flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in
            this report;

      4.    The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible
            for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures
            (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the
            registrant and have:

                 a.    designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or
                       caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be
                       designed under our supervision, to ensure that material
                       information relating to the registrant, including its
                       consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others
                       within those entities, particularly during the period in
                       which this report is being prepared;

                 b.    evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's
                       disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this
                       report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the
                       disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the
                       period covered by this report based on such evaluation;
                       and

                 c.    disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's
                       internal controls over financial reporting that occurred
                       during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the
                       registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an
                       annual report) that has materially affected, or is
                       reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's
                       internal control over financial reporting; and

      5.    The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed,
            based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over
            financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit
            committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons
            performing the equivalent functions):

                 a.    all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in
                       the design or operation of internal control over
                       financial reporting which are reasonably likely to
                       adversely affect the registrant's ability to record,
                       process, summarize and report financial information; and

                 b.    any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
                       management or other employees who have a significant role
                       in the registrant's internal control over financial
                       reporting.

Date: August 5, 2004

                                         /s/ Peter J. Hill
                                         -------------------------------------
                                         Peter J. Hill
                                         President and Chief Executive Officer