On Thursday, the National Assembly of Venezuela adopted a resolution against the sale of a stake in Petromonagas to Russian oil company Rosneft, TASS news agency reports citing the Republican parliament’s website.
As a reference, the highest body of the legislative power is controlled by the opposition to the current president Nicolas Maduro.
Last year, Rosneft acquired 23,3% stake in Petromonagas, a joint enterprise of the Russian company and PDVSA, the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas corporation. Thus, Rosneft increased its share up to 40%. Apart from that, Rosneft and PDVSA participate in four joint projects on oil production in Venezuela.
According to Venezuelan parliamentarians, the transaction with Petromonagas violates the constitution, which states that any government contract with foreign companies must be approved by the National Assembly. Moreover, the members of Parliament suppose that $500 million payment for the stake is insufficient, since, according to the surveys of a number of oil industry experts, the price of the shares has to be much higher.
