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US, Vietnamese companies withdrawing from projects with Venezuela's oil and gas company

According to the Venezuela's state oil and gas company it needs partners who invest rather than just take dividends

© AP Photo/Fernando Llano

CARACAS, April 20. /TASS/. The Vietnamese state corporation PetroVietnam and the American private company Harvest Natural Resources Inc are withdrawing from joint projects with PVDSA - Venezuela's state oil and gas company, PDVSA senior managers said on Sunday during a presentation of the company’s strategy for journalists.

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PetroVietnam has a 40-percent stake in the joint venture Petromacareo, which develops a block in the north of the Junin field. Harvest owns a 32-percent stake in the Petrodelta JV, which produces about 40,000 barrels of oil per day in the northeast of Venezuela.

PDVSA Eulogio Del Pino said the company needs partners who invest their money, and not just take dividends. He said they have been offered good work conditions.

According to him, Harvest is leaving Venezuela because it cannot invest in the project.

Board member of Corporacion Venezolana del Petroleo (a PDVSA subsidiary) Ruben Figueira said PetroVietnam was negotiating the sale of its shares with some company, which is not Russian. There are fields nearby that could be merged, he said.

TASS has learned that the Petromacareo project is to be reorganised and integrated with other projects. The strategy for this project is in the process of change. It will possibly involve China’s CNPC and our other international partners a PDVSA source told TASS. The Junin field is being developed, in addition to Petromacareo, by the Petrourica JV (CNPC - 40%, PDVSA - 60%), Petrojunin (Eni - 40%, PDVSA - 60%), Petromiranda, (40% in which is held by the National Oil Consortium and 60% by PDVSA).

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