Russian oil giant Rosneft has given Venezuela’s beleaguered state oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) a $1.02bn advance payment, according to Bloomberg.
The payment, just revealed but made in April, follows $1.5bn in advance payments made last year.
For those 2016 payments, Rosneft acquired an almost 50% stake in PDVSA’s US subsidiary Citgo.
Rosneft made the latest payment public in the wake of the US sanctioning the South American country’s president.
It also reiterated its commitment to investment in Venezuela, which is reeling from economic crisis and widespread political protests.
Venezuela is Rosneft’s biggest foreign supplier of crude.
PDVSA controls the world’s largest oil reserves including vast offshore potential riches but has increasingly been ailing in tandem with the national economy and the collapse in the price of oil.
Recently PDVSA sought to delay the release of its audited financial statements.
Last week the US imposed sanctions aimed at President Nicolas Maduro following a widely-panned election for a constituent assembly, which many critics say is a big step towards making Venezuela a dictatorship.
There has also been talk of the US considering banning US companies from supplying light grade oil to Venezuela. Light grade oil is essential for diluting Venezuela’s heavy crude to make it suitable for export.
