OVL to provide $318 mn financing guarantee to Venezuela

ONGC Videsh Ltd will provide $318 million financing to help raise output at a Venezuelan oilfield after the nation signed a pact to supply 17,000 barrels per day of crude oil to India to clear past dues. OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned ONGC, owns 40 per cent of Venezuela´s San Cristobal oilfield and had invested about $190 million in the project in 2008. State-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) holds the remaining stake. ´We will stand guarantee to raising of the $318 million capital required for investing in the San Cristobal project,´ OVL CEO and Managing Director Narendra K Verma said. OVL and Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA signed the deal to finance increased crude production at the joint venture Petrolera Indovenezolana, SA, which operates the San Cristobal oilfield. The financing will help boost production at the San Cristobal field.´