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LatAmOil COMMENTARY LatAmOil
Guaido’s allies at PdVSA suffer setback in Jamaica
The Venezuelan company’s ad hoc board has asked Kingston to halt
the planned transfer of a 49% stake in the Petrojam re nery, but to no avail
WHAT:
PdVSA’s ad hoc board members have urged Jamaica’s government not to expropriate a minority stake in the Petrojam re nery.
WHY:
Jamaica’s government says it has already pushed its stake in the plant up to 100% .
WHAT NEXT:
The fate of PdVSA’s holdings in Jamaica may be decided in court.
VENEZUELA’s state oil company PdVSA has su ered a blow in its bid to retain control of a key foreign asset – namely, a 49%
stake in Petrojam, a 36,000 barrel per day hydroskimming re nery in Jamaica.
PdVSA’s ownership of the stake through its subsidiary PDV Caribe has been in dispute since February, when the Jamaican Senate approved legislation that authorised Kingston to take control of it. Jamaican o cials have justi ed the move, which raises the Jamaican government’s interest in the re nery from 51% to 100%, by citing concerns about delays in the planned upgrade of the plant and about the possible impact of US sanctions.
But its actions have drawn criticism from allies of Venezuelan opposition leader and interim President Juan Guaido, who is seeking to oust the regime of President Nicolas Maduro.
Formal request
Over the weekend, the ad hoc board of direc- tors appointed by Guaido sought to halt the transfer of the 49% stake in Petrojam. In a letter, members of the board requested that Jamai- can authorities suspend e orts to gain control of the refinery. They noted that Guaido had already made a personal request to this e ect to Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and referred to the legislation approved by the Senate in February as an “expropriation process.”
Additionally, they warned Kingston against trying to maintain ties to Maduro. Jamaica’s gov- ernment has not recognised the claim to power that Guaido made in January of this year, invok- ing the Venezuelan constitution on the grounds that Maduro won re-election in 2018 by illegit- imate means.
Pushing back
e letter met with a chilly reception
in Kingston. Robert Nesta Morgan, the parliamentary secretary for Holness’ o ce, said in a statement on June 17 that the ad hoc board’s request had been received and sent to Attorney General Marlene Mahaloo Forte for “advice.”
Morgan also declared that Jamaica’s govern- ment already had possession of the 49% stake as a result of the Senate vote earlier this year. “ e shares ... are now owned by Jamaica,” he said, pointing out that there were provisions for the previous owner to seek compensation. King- ston has set up and funded an escrow account to cover claims by interested parties, he explained, without saying how much the account held.
His words were echoed by Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith, who said separately on June 17 that Jamaican authorities viewed the matter as settled. “ e government of Jamaica now owns the shares of Petrojam in its entirety. We passed legislation in order to give this e ect. It was not a negotiated agreement,” she was quoted as saying by the Jamaica Gleaner. “We passed legislation, and the shares have now [been] vested ... So there is no question about completing a transaction. e shares are now owned by Jamaica.”
Authorities in Kingston have not said whether they will consider any claims made by the interim president’s allies at PdVSA. Accord- ing to Reuters, Guaido’s overseas legal repre- sentative Jose Ignacio Hernandez has said that he and Luis Pacheco, the head of the compa- ny’s ad hoc board, have already asked Jamaica to con ne its negotiations on compensation to Venezuela’s legitimate government.
Petrojam.com
Foreign Minister “ Kamina Johnson
Smith said on June 17 that Jamaican authorities viewed the matter as settled.
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 24 19•June•2019