President of Pdvsa: We are slipping into debt, but our assets have grown

Confronting criticism on the indebtedness of Venezuelan state-run oil company Pdvsa, its president and also minister of Petroleum and Mining, Rafael Ramírez, informed that although the oil company owes debts to the Central Bank of Venezuelan and private banks, "it is important to highlight that the assets of the company have grown."

"We were a USD 37 billion oil company. Today the wealth of the company amounts to USD 72 billion. Our assets have sparkled Our iron, our equipment, our machinery stand at USD 183 billion," Ramírez explained.  

The head of the oil company added that Pdvsa indebtedness is being used to create "a mindset that we have no capacity to run the oil industry (...) It has been said that Pdvsa is in crisis and is tearing apart."

Ramírez underscored that foreign banks would not lend money to a company unable to settle its debts.

"No way! Indeed, we seek to boost oil output. We have two horizons: four million of barrels per day (bpd) in 2014 and nine million in 2019."

A finance plan or investment development plan amounting to USD 234 billion has been designed estimated for such a purpose, he said.

Translated by Jhean Cabrera