Rosneft Oil (fka RNFTF)

[eFinanceMarkets]

Venezuelan state oil company eludes default

Venezuelan state-owned oil company PdVSA paid $2.23B in bond principal and interest due Wednesday, beating back a threatened default as the country’s oil revenue dwindles.

Last year, PdVSA pledged 50% of its U.S. downstream subsidiary Citgo as collateral for a debt restructuring, and deployed the other half as collateral to obtain a $1.5B credit from Russian oil firm Rosneft.

Last month, PdVSA offered Rosneft (OTC:RNFTF) a 10% stake in its 120K bbl/day Petropiar heavy crude project, but existing minority partner Chevron (NYSE:CVX) has a right of first refusal for the stake; there is no indication that any part of the transaction has been executed.