23.12.2016, 17:35
PdV pledges half of Citgo for Rosneft loan
OREANDA-NEWS. Venezuelan state-owned oil company PdV has pledged 49.9pc of its US downstream subsidiary Citgo to Russian state-controlled Rosneft as collateral for an unspecified loan.
As first reported by Redd Intelligence yesterday and confirmed independently by Argus, a Delaware Uniform Commercial Code filing dated 30 November shows that Citgo parent PdV Holding negotiated a deal that would transfer almost half of Citgo's equity to Rosneft in the event of a PdV default on the debt.
Citgo has pipeline assets and three refineries with a combined capacity of 749,000 b/d in Corpus Christi, Texas; Lake Charles, Louisiana; and Lemont, Illinois.
PdV's agreement with Rosneft means that 100pc of Citgo is now pledged as collateral against distressed parent firm PdV's debts.
It is not clear yet if the previously undisclosed loan agreement between PdV Holding and Rosneft violates covenants relating to other debt obligations imposed on Citgo by its parent firm PdV.
PdV last October pledged 50.1pc of Citgo's equity as collateral to refinance $2.8bn of bond debt due in 2016-17 for a new four-year PdV 2020 bond totaling $3.4bn of principal and interest.
If PdV defaults on any portion of the new PdV 2020 bond, the holders of that bond could seize 50.1pc of Citgo Holding, which owns the US oil refineries.
The loan agreement negotiated by Venezuelan energy minister and PdV chief executive Eulogio Del Pino and Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin has not been disclosed by Venezuela's government. Sechin last visited Venezuelan officials, including Del Pino and foreign minister Delcy Rodriguez, in Caracas on 20 November.
Venezuela's Central Bank reserves increased over $890mn on 30 November, the day the UCC filing was registered in Delaware, and currently total over $11.1bn.
The UCC filings in Delaware that show the terms of the agreement are used to protect creditors and inform other potential creditors that a lien exists on assets in which they also have an interest.
Rosneft holds minority stakes in five upstream Venezuelan assets including 130,000 b/d PetroMonagas, Petroperija and Boqueron in Zulia state, and planned new Orinoco upstream ventures PetroMiranda and PetroVictoria with a projected combined crude capacity of 800,000 b/d at peak output.
Citgo currently is being sued separately in Delaware by ConocoPhillips and mining company Crystallex under Delaware's Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act. Both lawsuits claim that Citgo, PdV and Venezuela's government fraudulently transferred $2.8bn of Citgo assets out of the US to avoid paying billions of dollars in dispute settlement claims by companies whose assets were unlawfully expropriated in Venezuela in 2007-11.
ConocoPhillips has not responded to a request for comment on the Citgo collateral.
The energy ministry, foreign ministry, presidential palace in Caracas and PdV were not available for comment today.
"Now Citgo literally doesn't belong to PDVSA anymore," leading opposition lawmaker and former central bank chief economist Jose Guerra said on Twitter today.
National Assembly president Henry Ramos Allup has warned repeatedly that with legislative branch approval all contracts and loans negotiated by the Maduro government and PdV are unconstitutional.
As first reported by Redd Intelligence yesterday and confirmed independently by Argus, a Delaware Uniform Commercial Code filing dated 30 November shows that Citgo parent PdV Holding negotiated a deal that would transfer almost half of Citgo's equity to Rosneft in the event of a PdV default on the debt.
Citgo has pipeline assets and three refineries with a combined capacity of 749,000 b/d in Corpus Christi, Texas; Lake Charles, Louisiana; and Lemont, Illinois.
PdV's agreement with Rosneft means that 100pc of Citgo is now pledged as collateral against distressed parent firm PdV's debts.
It is not clear yet if the previously undisclosed loan agreement between PdV Holding and Rosneft violates covenants relating to other debt obligations imposed on Citgo by its parent firm PdV.
PdV last October pledged 50.1pc of Citgo's equity as collateral to refinance $2.8bn of bond debt due in 2016-17 for a new four-year PdV 2020 bond totaling $3.4bn of principal and interest.
If PdV defaults on any portion of the new PdV 2020 bond, the holders of that bond could seize 50.1pc of Citgo Holding, which owns the US oil refineries.
The loan agreement negotiated by Venezuelan energy minister and PdV chief executive Eulogio Del Pino and Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin has not been disclosed by Venezuela's government. Sechin last visited Venezuelan officials, including Del Pino and foreign minister Delcy Rodriguez, in Caracas on 20 November.
Venezuela's Central Bank reserves increased over $890mn on 30 November, the day the UCC filing was registered in Delaware, and currently total over $11.1bn.
The UCC filings in Delaware that show the terms of the agreement are used to protect creditors and inform other potential creditors that a lien exists on assets in which they also have an interest.
Rosneft holds minority stakes in five upstream Venezuelan assets including 130,000 b/d PetroMonagas, Petroperija and Boqueron in Zulia state, and planned new Orinoco upstream ventures PetroMiranda and PetroVictoria with a projected combined crude capacity of 800,000 b/d at peak output.
Citgo currently is being sued separately in Delaware by ConocoPhillips and mining company Crystallex under Delaware's Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act. Both lawsuits claim that Citgo, PdV and Venezuela's government fraudulently transferred $2.8bn of Citgo assets out of the US to avoid paying billions of dollars in dispute settlement claims by companies whose assets were unlawfully expropriated in Venezuela in 2007-11.
ConocoPhillips has not responded to a request for comment on the Citgo collateral.
The energy ministry, foreign ministry, presidential palace in Caracas and PdV were not available for comment today.
"Now Citgo literally doesn't belong to PDVSA anymore," leading opposition lawmaker and former central bank chief economist Jose Guerra said on Twitter today.
National Assembly president Henry Ramos Allup has warned repeatedly that with legislative branch approval all contracts and loans negotiated by the Maduro government and PdV are unconstitutional.
Комментарии