Guaido team reiterates warning to PdV partners

Venezuela's political opposition reiterated a warning to foreign oil companies that any deal with the government of President Nicolas Maduro signed after 10 January 2019 will not be recognized by a future administration.

The fresh warning was issued by Jose Ignacio Hernandez, the "ad hoc" attorney general of a shadow interim administration led by US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is recognized by most Western countries as Venezuela's legitimate leader since he declared his interim government a year ago this month.

"Any contract that directly or indirectly transfers hydrocarbons exploration, development and marketing rights to private companies signed by the Maduro regime will be deemed unconstitutional," the 16 January communique states.

Hernandez goes on to say that even minority partners of state-owned PdV will be accountable to Venezuela's constitution and for facilitating human rights violations, which have been repeatedly identified by the UN and non-governmental organizations inside and outside Venezuela.

Two aides to Guaido said companies that defy their warning risk asset expropriation and debt repudiation.

The communique does not name any oil companies, but several aides to Guaido point to Russian state-controlled Rosneft, Chinese state-owned CNPC, Spain's Repsol and US major Chevron, PdV's most high-profile partners.

Chevron continues to operate in Venezuela under a waiver from US sanctions that expires on 22 January, but which seems likely to be extended by the US Treasury.

One official close to Guaido highlighted that the recent restoration of heavy-crude upgrading at PdV's PetroPiar joint venture with Chevron sparked outrage in some opposition circles that interpret the move as supportive of Maduro. But many opposition figures still want Chevron to remain in Venezuela to help rebuild the economy under a post-Maduro government. If the US firm is forced to pull out, Russian and Chinese companies would swiftly take its place, according to supporters of a waiver extension.

At PetroPiar and other PdV joint ventures, minority partners have informally assumed an operating role, a trend that the new opposition communique is aimed at discouraging.

Rosneft and CNPC are openly operating their PetroMonagas and PetroSinovensa joint ventures with PdV, even though no contractual changes have been made by PdV to reflect this. The Venezuelan company is mandated to hold a controlling stake in all oil joint ventures.

With tacit support from Russia, the Maduro government sought to bypass the Guaido-led assembly's resistance to new oil ventures in early January by supporting a parallel legislative leadership led by Luis Parra, and locking Guaido and his allies out of the legislature. Parra has only gained recognition from Moscow, and Guaido has taken to convening his assembly at remote sites east of Caracas.

Among the greenfield ventures that the Maduro government wants to pursue is 200,000 b/d PetroSur with wealthy Venezuelan emigres such as Oswaldo Cisneros and former Repsol executives through a Cyprus-based shell company called Inversiones Petroleras Iberoamericanas.