Pdvsa fails to provide guarantee for Abreu e Lima refinery with Petrobras

A source of the Brazilian oil company said that state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela did not request an extension of the deadline to provide a guarantee that it would take the USD 5.72 billion credit required to participate in the project

State-run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) missed the deadline to hand over documents to Brazilian federal oil company Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) to ensure its share in a USD 14 billion refinery in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, a Petrobras source said on Wednesday, in a new setback for the delayed project.

The deadline to provide the financial guarantee to fund Pdvsa's 40% stake in the Abreu e Lima refinery expired on Tuesday, January 31. The 230,000 bpd heavy-oil refinery is being built in the northeast of Brazil.

The source said that Pdvsa failed to provide the requested documents and did not ask for an extension of the deadline, Reuters reported.

However, the Venezuelan oil company said through its press office in Brazil that the deadline for completing the agreement was automatically extended to March 31.