Schlumberger withdrawal hits PdV

摘要

Venezuela’s state-owned oil firm PdV faces a new challenge, with global oil service company Schlumberger planning to scale down its operations in the country by the end of this month because of payment shortfalls. The move was “not expected by the executive cabinet”, a government official says. The energy ministry and Schlumberger had been “making efforts” to expedite late payments, the official says. Schlumberger in 2013 granted PdV a $1bn revolving line of credit, and renewed it in 2014. But PdV owes Schlumberger over $1.4bn. Other companies working in Venezuela, such as Chevron, have used credit lines to facilitate payments from PdV. Schlumberger has booked over $600mn in foreign exchange losses since 2013 on its Venezuelan operations.