Rosneft, on Saturday, said that it had terminated operations in Venezuela and sold its assets in the South American country to an unnamed company owned by the Russian government. This move came after the US ramped up sanctions on President Nicolas Maduro’s administration, including sanctions to two Rosneft’s units, Rosneft Trading and TNK Trading International.
The transaction means that any future US sanctions on Russian-operated oil assets in Venezuela would be directly aimed at the Russian government. Russian state company Rosneftegaz owns slightly over 50% of Rosneft’s capital. Other owners include BP (19.75%) and Qatar’s QH Oil Investments LLC (18.93%).
Mikhail Leontiyev, a Rosneft’s spokesman, said the termination of the operations in Venezuela was aimed at protecting shareholders. Both Rosneft and the Russian government declined to name the company involved in the deal. Rosneft has been under US sanctions since 2014 after Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
