Total, Equinor exit Petrocedeno oil venture in Venezuela

Total and Equinor held 30% and 10% in the venture, respectively, which included a heavy crude field in the Orinoco oil belt and an upgrader that converted the crude into exportable grades. "Following an important and harmonious negotiation for the acquisition of 100% of the shares of the mixed company Petrocedeno, Venezuela is now the sole proprietor of one of the most powerful companies in Latin America," PDVSA and the oil ministry said in a joint statement.

Norway's Equinor and France's TotalEnergies have agreed to sell their stakes in Venezuela's Petrocedeno project to a unit of state oil firm PDVSA, which will become the sole owner, Equinor and Venezuela's government said on Thursday.

The exit comes as U.S. sanctions meant to force President Nicolas Maduro from power have complicated western oil companies' ability to operate in the OPEC nation. Total and Equinor held 30% and 10% in the venture, respectively, which included a heavy crude field in the Orinoco oil belt and an upgrader that converted the crude into exportable grades.

"Following an important and harmonious negotiation for the acquisition of 100% of the shares of the mixed company Petrocedeno, Venezuela is now the sole proprietor of one of the most powerful companies in Latin America," PDVSA and the oil ministry said in a joint statement. Separately, TotalEnergies confirmed the transaction and said it would mean a loss of $1.38 billion for the French company.

Equinor said the transaction supports its "corporate strategy to focus its portfolio on international core areas and prioritized geographies where Equinor can leverage its competitive advantages." Bloomberg News first reported the firms' exit.

Petrocedeno produced around 14,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May, according to internal PDVSA documents seen by Reuters, whereas joint ventures in the Orinoco belt part-owned by Chevron and China's CNPC each produced more than 50,000 BPD. That was also a fraction of the 100,000 bpd the venture produced in 2017, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in line with a general collapse of PDVSA's crude output after years of underinvestment and lack of maintenance in the crisis-stricken OPEC nation's oil sector.