As sanctions return to Venezuela, OVL has a problem on its hands

The six-month sanctions waiver ended connected Friday with nary advancement connected the oil-for-dividends program agreed betwixt the 2 countries. US officials person present indicated that the sanctions volition return.

OVL is looking astatine viable options to unafraid the crude oil, and its ineligible and selling teams person been enactment into actionforthesame, a idiosyncratic alert of the substance said.

"It would instrumentality clip for Venezuela to nonstop oil. The accumulation capableness of the state has besides declined implicit the years of authorisation which request to beryllium rejuvenated. The likelihood of different authorisation raises interest whether these cargoes would really get delivered," the idiosyncratic said connected information of anonymity.

Venezuela's state-run vigor monopoly PdVSA owes astir $600 cardinal successful dividends to OVL, which owns 49% involvement successful the operational San Cristobal project, and 11% successful Carabobo, which is nether development.

In January, Mint had reported that OVL is successful talks with its Venezuelan spouse PdVSA to unafraid lipid cargoes for settling the agelong pending dues to the ONGC arm.

In effect to a query, an OVL spokesperson said: "Our ineligible and selling teams are moving connected the issue," adding the institution would revert aft a wide representation emerges.

Queries sent to the Union ministry of petroleum and earthy state and Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PdVSA) remained unanswered till property time.

The US, which had concisely lifted sanctions connected Venezuela's lipid assemblage successful October, is readying to revive them implicit Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro's nonaccomplishment to clasp escaped and just elections.

The instrumentality of sanctions whitethorn besides interaction OVL's plans to get operatorship of the 2 Venezuelan projects. OVL managing manager Rajarshi Gupta had said successful February that the institution would look astatine investing much successful the state to summation productivity.

“The lifting of the sanctions is simply a precise affirmative sign. We are successful precise precocious discussions with the authorities of Venezuela to get further cargoes to liquidate our dividends and astatine the aforesaid clip to get the operatorship of the 2 projects that we person determination and summation the accumulation from there. The 2 projects we volition person to put to get much production. That’s inactive being worked out. We volition person to invest, due to the fact that Venezuela has the largest reserves successful the world. So, if we put more, we volition get much production," helium had said.

Currently, OVL and PdVSA jointly run the projects. OVL acquired 40% successful San Cristobal task successful Venezuela successful 2008, with PdVSA owning the equilibrium 60%. ONGC Videsh holds the involvement done ONGC Nile Ganga (San Cristobal) BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of ONGC Nile Ganga B.V.