LatAmOil: Russian firm seeks control of Venezuelan crude, fuel oil exports

Roszarubezhneft, a state-owned Russian oil firm, has asked Caracas for permission to assume control of the crude and fuel oil exports carried out by its five joint ventures with Venezuela’s national oil company (NOC) PdVSA, according to a Reuters report.

Two sources close to the matter told the news agency that Roszarubezhneft was taking this step to improve cash flows at the five joint ventures, which have been under pressure because of US sanctions on Venezuela. The Russian company “is ready to act as an off-taker,” one of the sources said.

Currently Roszarubezhneft must rely on intermediaries designated by PdVSA to handle exports, and these middlemen take a large portion of the joint ventures’ revenues for their services. Indeed, PdVSA currently owes the joint ventures $3.2bn for oil sales handled in this fashion. It is also reported to owe another $1.4bn directly to Roszarubezhneft for loans previously extended, though it is disputing this amount, one of Reuters’ sources said.