Rosneft OAO is hesitant to join the Mariscal Sucre offshore natural gas project if future production will only go to the domestic market, said a company official on the sidelines of an event Wednesday, Bloomberg said June 17.

Rosneft is still discussing its possible participation in the project off the coast of eastern Venezuela, said the official, who can’t be named due to company policy. Petroleos de Venezuela SA President Eulogio del Pino is supposed to travel Wednesday to Russia to try to secure Rosneft’s investment in the project, according to company officials questioned about the absence of PDVSA’s president at Venezuela’s largest oil event.

PDVSA, as the state-owned producer is known, plans to ramp up natural gas production from offshore projects including Mariscal Sucre to phase out imports of the fuel from Colombia and supply power plants, many of which are running on expensive imported diesel.

Industry publication Upstream reported June 12 that PDVSA was set to sign the joint venture with Rosneft. PDVSA officials attending an oil conference Maracaibo, Venezuela declined to comment about the negotiations between the company and Rosneft regarding a potential partnership in the Mariscal Sucre area.


Offshore