In the coming months, the regime of Nicolas Maduro will have to pay $ 3.7 billion in debt. In this regard, he is desperately trying to raise the funding at Russia on the cheap financial assets that chavistas are confiscated by us multinationals.
“But even so, doubts remain that the Venezuelan authorities will be able to raise the necessary funds to repay the debt,” warned Russ Dallen (Russ Dallen) managing the firm Caracas Capital Markets, during the event, held on Tuesday the Venezuelan-American chamber of Commerce and Venezuelan American National Bar Association.
“In total, Venezuela and state oil company PDVSA in the coming months is to carry a debt of 3.7 billion dollars, but obviously that kind of money they have,” said Dallen, who will make a report on the situation in the country next week during hearings in the House of representatives.
It made Bolivarians to turn to Russia, which has gradually increased its participation in the oil industry of Venezuela.
“They suggested the Russians to sell a stake in PetroPiar. The deal is 30% owned by Chevron, PDVSA and the proportion increased to 70% after the government expropriated 40% of the equity which had in the oil company ConocoPhillips. Money for her is still not paid,” said Dallen.
According to news Agency Reuters, PDVSA has offered Rosneft 10% in the project, providing for the extraction of extra-heavy oil in the Orinoco river basin.
The proposal “is a Testament to the very difficult economic situation and the growing influence of Moscow in this Latin American country,” reports Reuters, citing five sources in the oil industry.
However, this deal is for Chevron is problematic, because in this case, the company will become part of Rosneft under sanctions from Washington, which prohibits American companies to do business with Rosneft.
For “Rosneft” the situation is highly favorable. “For various reasons, Russian is very beneficial,” said Dallen.
“First, they were not invited to participate in the tender for the development of oil fields, and now they want to win, buy these assets at low prices that American companies have invested billions of dollars. They were subsequently nationalized without payment of any compensation. Now Venezuela is frantically trying to raise money,” he said.
“But the Venezuelan government appeal not only to Russia. In addition to Rosneft, Venezuela is also in talks with a Japanese investment Bank for the purpose of obtaining loans,” he added.
Authorities are trying to obtain new lines of credit at the time of acute economic crisis in modern history and difficulties with the repayment of a huge external debt.
Income from the sale of oil, which had declined to less than one million barrels per day, “not even enough to pay the oil companies” or to purchase medicines and food. And this despite the fact that the country’s currency reserves almost zero, said Dallen.
Venezuela failed to repay a debt of $ 725 million last month, but in November the Bolivarian regime has demonstrated that it is not able to pay the debt.
The payment was made with a delay of 30 days. At the end of the grace period, been paid a relatively modest sum of 400 million dollars. What happened is what economists call “technical default”.
This payment was made due to the fact that “Rosneft” has provided a loan of half a billion dollars after PDVSA put up as collateral a 50% stake in the us oil refinery Citgo, which has caused some confusion in the corridors of power in Washington.
But those half billion already disappeared, according to Dallana.
