Page 11 - LatAmOil Week 22

LatAmOil MEXICO LatAmOil

Libre Abordo declares bankruptcy,

says Venezuela ended oil-for-food deal

LIBRE Abordo, the Mexico-based company In April, the US Secretary of State Mike
involved in a controversial oil-for-water agree- Pompeo said that the US government was
ment with Venezuela, has declared bankruptcy. investigating allegations that a number of firms
According to press reports, the company were violating the sanctions regime by trading
announced its insolvency over the weekend. Venezuelan oil. Washington imposed those
It also said that Venezuelan President Nicolas restrictions in a bid to prevent the country from
Maduro had ended the deal, which had allowed exporting oil and to force Maduro to step down
the firm to supply the South American country in favour of the interim government helmed by
with water trucks in exchange for millions of opposition leader Juan Guaido.
barrels of crude oil. Washington has been implementing the
Maduro blamed sanctions for Libre Abor- sanctions more tightly in recent months, in a
do’s plight, saying that pressure from the US had bid to topple Maduro more quickly.
“knocked down” Venezuela’s oil-for-food agree- The third Mexican company being investi-
ments with several Mexican companies. gated is reportedly Grupo Jomadi Logistics &
Libre Abordo and an affiliated firm, Schlager Cargo, according to a separate Reuters report.
Business Group, have been trading Venezuelan Two European oil trading companies, Elemento
crude and fuel under one such agreement since and Swissoil Trading, are also being probed by
late last year. US officials have promised to look the Treasury and State departments, sources
into the deal, since it was signed after the US told the news agency last month. ™
imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s national oil
company (NOC) PdVSA in early 2019.
The Mexican firm defended its activities in a
statement about the bankruptcy. “The company
for years has had the intention of supporting
people in need, regardless of political ideolo-
gies,” it said.
“As part of the bankruptcy, hundreds of
direct jobs will be lost,” the firm added.
On Sunday, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister
Jorge Arreaza said in a Twitter post that Wash-
ington was violating human rights and freedom
of trade by putting pressure on Libre Abordo.
“This is proof of the perverse and illegal char-
acter of the US sanctions regime, showing that
they lie when saying there are exceptions for Some water trucks have already arrived in Venezuela by ship (Photo: Yucatan Times)
humanitarian reasons,” the minister wrote.

COLOMBIA
Colombian oil transport firms

to extend reduced pipeline charges

STATE-CONTROLLED oil transportation their previous offer of easy financing terms for a
companies in Colombia have agreed to extend period of up to six months, without reference to
previously offered reductions in pipeline charges the volumes or prices of the oil involved. It also
amidst persistently low oil prices. stated that subsequent grace periods would be
Cenit, a subsidiary of Colombia’s national negotiated with individual companies and said
oil company (NOC) Ecopetrol, said that it and it had agreed to tariff discounts and more flexi-
its transport subsidiaries intended to extend bility in certain contracts.

Week 22 04•June•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P11