Russia's Gazprombank freezes accounts of Venezuela's PDVSA: source

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

BUSINESS NEWS FEBRUARY 17, 2019 / 6:27 AM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

Russia's Gazprombank freezes accounts of Venezuela's PDVSA: source

Tatiana Voronova
2 MIN READ

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian lender Gazprombank has decided to freeze the accounts of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA and halted transactions with the firm to reduce the risk of the bank falling under U.S. sanctions, a Gazprombank source told Reuters on Sunday.

While many foreign firms have been cutting their exposure to PDVSA since the sanctions were imposed, the fact that a lender closely aligned with the Russian state is following suit is significant because the Kremlin has been among Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s staunchest supporters.

“PDVSA’s accounts are currently frozen. As you’ll understand, operations cannot be carried out,” the source said. Gazprombank did not reply to a Reuters request for a comment.

Reuters reported this month that PDVSA was telling customers of its joint ventures to deposit oil sales proceeds in its Gazprombank accounts, according to sources and an internal document, in a move to try to sideline fresh U.S. sanctions on PDVSA.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-gazprombank/russias-gazprombank-freezes-accounts-of-venezuelas-pdvsa-source-idUSKCN1Q60BK

[GatoGordo]

1. The wheels are coming off the Chavista wagon

Maduro was just openly scolded by a Russian minister saying he was tired of the excuses coming out of Caracas and the Chavista regime. And China just ejected Venezuela from their multi-billion dollar joint oil venture/refinery in China.

As much as Russia and China enjoy being a thorn in Uncle Sams side, its money that talks and the writing is on the wall. The amount of oil coming out of Venezuela these days is a pittance, and Gazprombank risks killing the Golden Goose so that it might collect an occasional golden egg.

Maduro has no way of repaying the nearly $60 billion in debt owed to both and things are deteriorating rapidly with PdVSA. They cannot pump more oil. The oil they are pumping they cannot refine. And their oil is high in sulfur, sea water contamination and thick as tar. They need diluants (naphtha) they cannot get.

https://whtc.com/news/articles/2019/jan/31/exclusive-petrochina-to-drop-pdvsa-as-partner-in-refinery-project-sources/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-russia-loan/russia-tells-venezuela-it-must-repay-its-debt-to-moscow-on-time-idUSKCN1PN1DM