Russian giant oil producer Rosneft said it’s ready to talk to U.S. authorities regarding its business in and with Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, following threats of sanctions, Kallanish Energy reports.
The company said in a statement earlier this week any attempt to restrict Rosneft or its subsidiaries in activities permitted by law, in particular supplying Venezuelan oil and making counter deliveries of oil products, “would be unlawful expropriation of such investments.”
The reaction follows comments by the U.S. special envoy for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, that Washington may impose sanctions on Rosneft for activities in the South American country.
“Rosneft makes a lot of money in Venezuela. I believe that they buy crude oil in Venezuela at a great discount, sell final products to them, such as fuel oil, kerosene and gasoline. They help Venezuela, but they suck it dry and make money from it,” Abrams said. “At some point, we will have to explore the possibilities, which retaliatory measures we can apply to Rosneft.”
“Rosneft is an investor in the oil and gas sector of Venezuela and has been such long before the introduction of U.S. sanctions against Venezuela,” the oil producer said.
It added the threat of imposing sanctions on the company or its structural divisions, at the same time that general permits allow American individuals to continue to carry out certain activities with PDVSA, would constitute “unfair competition.”
The Russian company, also owned by BP (19.75%) and the Qatari Investment Authority (18.93%), said all its operations to supply Venezuelan oil or deliver gasoline to Venezuela are carried out under pre-paid contracts signed before the imposition of sanctions. The activities “do not pursue any interests other than ensuring the return of previously made investments,” it said.
“The current statements by the U.S. authorities are aimed at creating additional tension in the global market, which ultimately affects the investment value of the company. Rosneft is ready to conduct an open dialogue with U.S. authorities to clarify its position,” it concluded.
