JV Petrozamora operates as usual despite corruption scandal

MOSCOW, Dec 1 (PRIME) -- A corruption scandal in Petrozamora, a joint venture between Russia’s Gazprombank and Venezuelan state oil giant PDVSA, has no impact on its operations and results, Sergei Tagashov, the managing director of Gazprombank’s subsidiary Gazprombank Latin America Ventures, told PRIME on Friday.

On Thursday, Venezuelan prosecutors detained former Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino and PDVSA CEO Nelson Martinez on charges of corruption. Del Pino was detained as part of investigation of corruption in Petrozamora, where investigators discovered large daily losses of oil production.

“The event is obviously a consequence of a large-scale anticorruption investigation that authorities of Venezuela are doing in national company PDVSA…The investigation covers joint ventures with foreign partners that may have become victims or subjects of interest of corrupted people, including in joint venture Petrozamora,” Tagashov said.

“We are obviously following the situation. The events have no impact on work and production figures of the company, and a long-term impact from an anti-corruption campaign can only be positive.”

The project is protected by all legal and financial mechanisms that are common in international practice. “The structure of the joint venture was created at a highly professional level. It protects the business model of joint venture Petrozamora,” he added.

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