Venezuela has awarded a stake in a key oil joint venture to a little-known firm called GazMin International Group almost six months after seizing it from Russian executives, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Gazmin now has a 40 percent holding in Petrozamora SA, while state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA holds the other 60 percent, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the decision has not been formally announced.
The minority stake was previously owned by GPB Global Resources, a closely held energy firm founded by former Gazprom PJSC officials, the people said.
Photo: Reuters
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government in September last year took over Petrozamora in the hopes of controlling its exports directly, the people said.
At the time, GPB called the move an “illegal asset expropriation.”
Gazmin says on its Web site that it is based in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
Some of its partners are Venezuelan nationals, the people said.
The United Arab Emirates’ federal registry shows a firm named GazMin was formed in September 2019, although it is not clear if that’s the same entity doing business in Venezuela. PDVSA and GPB did not respond to requests for comment.
The changes in ownership follow a tumultuous time for the global oil market and Venezuela’s place in it. The country has lost out to cheaper Russian crude in the Chinese market, which in preceding years has been one of the biggest buyers of oil from the South American nation. Russian oil has been sold at a discounted price amid efforts by the US and other G7 nations to curb Moscow’s energy revenues.
That is not the only recent change for Venezuelan exports. Chevron Corp is now able to export from the country to the US after the easing of sanctions targeting the Maduro government. Venezuela could soon be sending more oil to the US than Persian Gulf producers Kuwait and Libya combined.
Prior to US sanctions, Petrozamora was one of the most productive oil ventures in Venezuela, with all of its crude going to Europe.
Meanwhile, oil fell as macroeconomic headwinds dominate the market, while traders wait and see how demand pans out.
West Texas Intermediate for April delivery on Friday rose 1.27 percent to US$76.68 a barrel, but declined 3.77 percent this week amid fears that recent economic data would impel the US Federal Reserve to more aggressively raise interest rates, compounding pressure from China’s tempered economic projections.
Brent crude for April delivery gained 1.46 percent to US$82.78 a barrel, but posted a weekly loss of 3.55 percent.
Any bulls looking for a bump in prices from the supply side have so far been disappointed by resilient flows from Russia counteracting recent concerns of the longevity of the growth in US supply.
“Risk appetite is dominating as crude traders shy away from substantially increasing their positioning with prices locked into a tight range,” TD Securities commodity strategist Daniel Ghali, said.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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