The oil company Rosneft formalizes the cessation of all its activities in Venezuela

Russian oil company Rosneft, the second largest in the world, confirmed on Friday that it has formalized the total cessation of its activities in Venezuela, after disposing of all its assets in the Latin American country.

"The company has terminated all its activities in Venezuela," explained Rosneft's president, Igor Sechin, in the report on the presentation of the first quarter's financial results. He explained that in the second quarter of this year Rosneft closed the sale, as it had anticipated, of all its assets in Venezuela to "a company owned 100% by the Government of the Russian Federation".

The transaction, Sechin added, included Rosneft's holdings in the extractors Petromonagas, Petroperija, Boquerón, Petromiranda, Petrovictoria, as well as in oil service companies and other companies in the sector.

The amount of the operation, which was carried out to protect Rosneft from US sanctions for its cooperation with the Nicolás Maduro government, has not been disclosed.

Last February, the US announced sanctions against Rosneft Trading and its director, Didier Casimiro, for allegedly helping Venezuela in the international oil trade to evade sanctions. Rosneft then called the sanctions "illegal, unjustified and an act of arbitrariness.

In March, the US also sanctioned TNK Trading International (TTI), another Rosneft subsidiary, for allegedly supporting the government of US President Nicolas Maduro.

The assets that Rosneft had in Venezuela remained in the hands of a Russian state-owned company, Roszarubezhneft, which, according to Interfax agency, was registered in Moscow on March 28, the same day that the Russian government announced the operation.