Russia's Rosneft terminates Venezuela operations

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MOSCOW — Russia’s largest oil producer, Rosneft, said on Saturday it had terminated operations in Venezuela and disposed of its assets relating to its operations there.

The United States earlier this year imposed sanctions on two Rosneft subsidiaries – Rosneft Trading and TNK Trading International, a Swiss-based unit of the company.

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Russia's Rosneft terminates Venezuela operations Back to video

The move was designed to ramp up pressure on the Russian state oil giant, which U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has said provided a financial lifeline to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Rosneft said it was selling its Venezuelan businesses to a company owned by the Russian government.

In a statement it did not give a reason for the deal, or name the company to which it had sold its operations.

They included assets in the joint ventures of Petromonagas, Petroperija, Boqueron, Petromiranda and Petrovictoria, as well as oil-field services companies, commercial and trading operations, it said.

A spokesman for the Russian government confirmed it had purchased Rosneft’s operations in Venezuela but declined to say what company was involved in the deal.

Rosneft said that it would be receiving a settlement payment worth a 9.6% share of Rosneft’s equity capital that will be held by a subsidiary.

Washington has long sought to isolate the socialist Venzuelan government as it seeks to pressure Maduro from power. (Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber Additional reporting by Darya Korsunskaya Editing by Giles Elgood and Frances Kerry)