Gazprombank denied transfer of PDVSA joint venture accounts

Gazprombank denied transfer of PDVSA joint venture accounts

Gazprombank called Reuters no information that Venezuelan PDVSA began to transfer the accounts of all joint ventures to a Russian bank

The Venezuelan national oil company PDVSA did not transfer the accounts of all the joint ventures to Gazprombank. This was reported to RBC representative of the bank.

“The Reuters news agency is not true. Being one of the largest oil companies in the world, PDVSA has open accounts in many large banks, including international ones, ”said RBC's interlocutor.

“Within the framework of cooperation with several Russian companies - bank customers in the Gazprombank group, a few years ago, PDVSA accounts were also opened. However, we emphasize that no new accounts have been opened and are not planned by the bank for opening, ”the representative of the bank added.

Earlier, PDVSA began to transfer the accounts of all the joint ventures to Gazprombank, sources told Reuters. The company's internal documents also noted that PDVSA requires Equinor, French Total and American Chevron to determine whether they will continue to participate in joint projects.

The US imposed sanctions against PDVSA on January 28, Washington froze the company's assets for $ 7 billion. Finance Minister Stephen Mnuchin noted that the subsidiary of Venezuelan company Citgo Petroleum, which operates in the States, can avoid restrictions if it does not transfer funds to PDVSA.

Later, the Ministry of Finance called the condition for easing sanctions: the transfer of control over the Venezuelan oil company to opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself the interim president of the country.

After the imposition of sanctions, Rosneft began to provide PDVSA with “vital petroleum products in exchange for Venezuelan oil,” the New York Times reported. Due to this, the oil company will be able to "partially replace the lost American supplies." In 2018, PDVSA halved the debt to Rosneft from $ 4.6 billion to $ 2.3 billion.

NYT found out about the PDVSA-replacing US deals with Rosneft

NYT found out about the PDVSA-replacing US deals with Rosneft

The Russian oil company, as the newspaper found out, agreed to provide the Venezuelan PDVSA, which was subject to sanctions, with “vital petroleum products”. In exchange, PDVSA provides her with oil, the publication’s sources say.

After the United States imposed sanctions against the Venezuelan state-owned oil and gas company PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.), Rosneft agreed to provide it with “vital petroleum products in exchange for Venezuelan oil”. About this, without specifying the sources of information reported by the American newspaper The New York Times (NYT). Thus, the Russian company “will partially replace the lost [PDVSA due to the sanctions] American supplies,” say two oil traders and two partners of a Venezuelan company who are familiar with this issue, the NYT reports. Such transactions, according to her, allow the PDVSA to continue to function without access to the international banking system.

Before the introduction of sanctions, as the newspaper explains, Venezuela imported about 120,000 barrels of oil and oil products per day from the United States. Venezuelans mixed lighter American oil with their own viscous crude oil so that it can flow through pipelines to ports. US shipments were suspended last week.

At the same time, the publication continues, officials from the Venezuelan oil and gas company notified the partners: "The country provided gasoline supplies until the end of March, preventing [for a while) the inevitable energy crisis caused by US sanctions."

A spokesman for Rosneft, commenting on the information on PDVSA shipments to NYT, said that the company pursues only business interests in Venezuela. He declined to comment on any barter deal with PDVSA.

NYT experts in the field of energy explained to the newspaper that the nature of the global oil market is such that Venezuela will be able to save some oil income, lowering the price and finding alternative customers in Asia. “In the end, there is always someone who does not have crude oil and who buys it in limited quantities,” said former Mosvir and former Latin American asset manager Chevron’s assets in Venezuela and other Latin American countries. However, in his opinion, buyers will go to such transactions only if a “big discount” is made for oil.

Earlier, on February 5, Rosneft’s first vice president in charge of production, Eric Liron, said that the Russian company assesses the situation in Venezuela as “temporary and does not affect Rosneft’s projects (quoted by TASS). According to him, the Russian company does not expect a decline in production in the framework of joint ventures with PDVSA in Venezuela. Assets in Venezuela are an exceptional resource base, Lyron added.

The US authorities imposed sanctions on PDVSA on January 29. On the same day, Washington explained that the United States would block $ 7 billion in company assets, “plus more than $ 11 billion in lost export earnings.” At the same time, the US authorities explained that they would continue to issue temporary licenses that would allow for “some transactions” with PDVSA. The American subsidiary of the Venezuelan state-owned company Citgo Petroleum will also be able to continue working, but only if the money it received will not be sent to PDVSA, but will remain on accounts blocked in the USA.

Later, the American Ministry of Finance called the condition of a possible easing of sanctions. To do this, according to representatives of the agency, control over the state PDVSA should pass to the speaker of the Venezuelan parliament, Juan Guaido, who declared himself president in January.