OREANDA-NEWS. August 29, 2012. State-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), through its subsidiary PDVSA Gas, reached an amicable agreement with oil and natural gas services provider Exterran Holdings Inc. to acquire the assets of Exterran Venezuela, an Exterran subsidiary, and to suspend the arbitration proceedings arising from the nationalization of assets and activities of the company. The parties agreed that 40% of the compensation for the sale of assets and the suspension of arbitration proceeding should be paid at the closing of the transaction while the remaining balance will be paid in equal cash payments over a period of 4 years.

In tandem with the purchase of Exterran Venezuela’s assets by PDVSA Gas, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Exterran Venezuela and two of its parent companies signed a claims settlement agreement, whereby it was agreed to suspend the arbitration proceeding that Universal Compression International Holdings filed against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela at the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (Icsid) in relation to the nationalization of assets of Exterran Venezuela. The arbitration proceeding before the Icsid will be terminated pending full payment from PDVSA.

The assets of Exterran Venezuela were subject to the Organic Law which Reserves Goods and Services Related to Hydrocarbons Primary Activities for the State, enacted on May 7, 2009. Exterran Venezuela provided natural-gas compression services which were reserved to the Venezuelan state by the aforementioned law.

This new amicable agreement of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and PDVSA Gas with foreign investors that provided oil services related to hydrocarbons primary activities took place a few months after the transfer operation of nationalized assets and the friendly settlement concluded at the end of March 2012 with the companies Wilpro Pigap II and Wilpro El Furrial, which are subsidiaries of Williams. Exterran is a minority shareholder of the two companies.

With the signature of this new agreement, Petroleos de Venezuela continues to demonstrate its strong will and determination to reach amicable agreements with domestic and foreign investors willing to accept fair compensation in cases of nationalized assets.