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Japanese oil company Inpex Corp (1605.T) sold two Venezuelan oil and gas assets to Caracas-based Sucre Energy Group, three people familiar with the transaction said, as multinational firms retreat from the crisis-stricken OPEC nation.
By Reuters – Luc Cohen
Aug 29, 2021
Sucre, a privately-held exploration and production firm focusing on improving mature fields in Latin America, purchased Inpex’s 70% stake in the Gas Guarico natural gas partnership with state oil company PDVSA (PDVSA.UL), as well as its 30% stake in the Petroguarico oil joint venture, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet public.
Inpex declined to comment. Neither Sucre nor PDVSA responded to requests for comment. The three people declined to specify the value of the transaction.
Inpex is the latest in a string of major oil companies to abandon once-promising assets in Venezuela, home to some of the world’s largest crude reserves but plagued by hyperinflation, corruption, and U.S. sanctions on PDVSA aimed at ousting President Nicolas Maduro, labeled a dictator by Washington.
In recent weeks, France’s TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) and Norway’s Equinor ASA (EQNR.OL) exited their Petrocedeno joint venture with PDVSA, citing the high carbon intensity of the project’s extra-heavy crude. Both companies retained their stakes in Venezuelan gas fields.
A consortium of Japanese companies including Inpex also recently exited its 5% stake in the Petroindependencia joint venture with PDVSA, Reuters reported in June.
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Read More: Reuters – Japan’s Inpex sells Venezuela oil and gas assets to local group -sources
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