UAE's ADNOC weighs Venezuela gas investment, Bloomberg News reports
Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the situation, reported that the?state oil company of Abu Dhabi, ADNOC, is considering entering Venezuela's energy industry. It could also seek a partnership to participate in Venezuela's gas projects with?another? international producer.
Could not verify the report immediately. XRG, ADNOC’s international investment arm, set up?inlate 2024, declined comment.
Bloomberg stated that ADNOC was interested in investing, but it would be dependent on the legal and financial structure of any investment. Any approach to Venezuela would need coordination with the U.S.
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, urged U.S. executives in the oil industry to invest $100 billion to revitalize Venezuela's oil industry after U.S. troops captured its leader Nicolas Maduro during an overnight raid in its capital on January 3, 2019.
ADNOC is pursuing a bold overseas growth strategy. This has been done mainly via XRG. XRG now owns the German chemicals manufacturer Covestro, as well as stakes for a liquefied gas plant in Texas, and several ADNOC subsidiary listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.
XRG aims at being one of the 'top three' players in the chemical industry globally, and among the top five for natural gas by 2050. The assets of XRG have grown from $80 billion to over $150 billion since it was announced a little over a year ago.
Venezuela is home to the largest oil reserves and natural gas reserves in the world. (Reporting by Mihika Sharma in Bengaluru. Yousef SABA is the author. Susan Fenton, Mark Potter and Susan Fenton edited the work.
(source: Reuters)
