#oilwire - Russia’s largest oil company disclosed another advance payment to Venezuela’s state producer after the U.S. sanctioned President Nicolas Maduro on Monday.
Rosneft PJSC paid $1.02 billion to Petroleos de Venezuela SA in April for future crude supplies, the state-run Russian producer said in an earnings statement on Friday. That follows advance payments of about $1.5 billion in 2016 and comes a day after Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin pledged to stick with investment plans in the crisis-torn Latin American nation.
“This is an indirect way of providing some financial aid to PDVSA,” according to Ovanes Oganisian, a strategist at MidLincoln Research, a consulting firm in Moscow. “PDVSA bonds are trading now with yields indicating a very solid possibility of default.”
Rosneft holds a 49.9% stake in PDVSA’s U.S. subsidiary, Citgo, as collateral for the $1.5-billion loan last year. Several U.S. lawmakers have asked the Treasury Department to investigate the matter, saying it could have national security implications if Rosneft gains control over Citgo.
Venezuela’s opposition-controlled congress earlier this year voted to reject a $500-million deal in which Rosneft increased its stake in the PetroMonagas venture with PDVSA. The country’s Supreme Court later invalidated the congressional ruling.
While the U.S. has sanctioned Maduro and other senior Venezuelan officials, Russia expressed its support following the elections.
“The recent vote gave a clear signal about the long overdue need to overcome the crisis experienced by the country through political means, through dialog, in line with the current legislation, on the basis of popular will and without outside interference,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on July 31.
