PDVSA Misses New Petrobras JV Deadline

Venezuela’s PDVSA missed a January 30 deadline to finalize its participation in the Abreu e Lima refinery joint venture with Brazil’s Petrobras after failing to secure a $10bn loan from development bank BNDES to pay for the transaction. Failing to offer BNDES the required loan guarantees, the Venezuelan company was unable to secure the financing for its 40% stake in Abreu e Lima located in Brazil’s northeastern state of Pernambuco, a $13.36bn joint venture that was formalized in December 2005, Petrobras says. At the time of the original signature, PDVSA and Petrobras expected the project to be completed in 2011. Late last year, PDVSA said it would secure loan guarantees from its Chinese partners to finalize its participation, but it is unclear whether that ever happened. Officials at PDVSA and BNDES could not immediately be reached for comment. Petrobras has said it plans to move ahead with the project with or without the participation from PDVSA. The project has on occasion been a stone in the shoe of diplomatic relations between both countries. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has often publicly complained about the slow pace of the transaction, blaming Petrobras executives and at one point denouncing the BNDES loan guarantees as unnecessary.