Maurel & Prom

Signing of a Set of Agreements with PdVSA for the Immediate Restart of the Activity of M&P’s Mixed Company in Venezuela

Regulatory News:

Maurel & Prom (Paris:MAU):

Audio conference for analysts and investors M&P will hold an analyst/investor conference via an audio webcast in French and English, on Friday 10 November at 9:45 a.m., followed by a Q&A session. To attend this webcast live or listen to the recording, click the following link: https://channel.royalcast.com/maureletpromfr/#!/maureletpromfr/2023111 ...

Etablissements Maurel & Prom (“M&P”, “the Group”) announces the signing on 7 November 2023 of a comprehensive set of agreements with Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (“PdVSA”) for the restart of the activities of the Petreoregional del Lago (“PRDL”) mixed company which operates the Urdaneta Oeste field in Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. M&P Iberoamerica (80% subsidiary of M&P) owns a 40% interest in PRDL alongside PdVSA’s 60% interest, which gives M&P a 32% net interest in the Urdaneta Oeste field.

Olivier de Langavant, Chief Executive Officer of M&P, stated: “We are delighted to be able to announce the full resumption of our operations in Venezuela, which we have been working towards for some years. It confirms the validity of our long-term growth strategy. Thanks to the announcements of the last few weeks, we have been able to finalise a contractual framework, which will allow us to finally tap the considerable potential of the Urdaneta Oeste field with immediate effect. This is a new step forward in the development of M&P, and it will provide substantial organic growth opportunities for the Group for years to come.”

Background to the agreements

In response to a comprehensive political agreement reached on 17 October 2023 between Venezuelan government and the Venezuelan opposition towards a roadmap for the 2024 presidential election, the U.S.’ Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued General License 44 (“GL 44”) on 18 October 2023 broadly licensing transactions in Venezuela’s oil and gas sector, including transactions involving PdVSA, for a six-month period until 18 April 2024.

The license applies equally to U.S. and non-U.S. persons and allows all transactions involving PdVSA or any other Government of Venezuela any entity that are related to oil or gas sector operations in Venezuela. This includes:

• All activities related to the production, lifting, sale or export of oil or gas from Venezuela, as well as the payment of taxes, royalties, costs, fees, dividends and profits;
• Financing and banking activities relating to the oil and gas sector;
• The payment of invoices for goods and services related to oil or gas sector operations;
• New investments in oil or gas sector operations; and
• The delivery of oil and gas to creditors of the Government of Venezuela or PdVSA as debt repayment.

The authorisations of the GL 44 are effective immediately and run to 18 April 2024. M&P expects to continue to receive any general or specific U.S. sanctions licensing that may be required for the continuation of activities authorised by GL 44 beyond 18 April 2024.