As of December 31, 2013, PDVSA, Venezuela’s national oil company, was dealing with $2.12 billion in “other legal claims,” in addition to the ongoing arbitration cases by Gulmar/Kaplan, ConocoPhillips Petrozuata, and Mobil Cerro Negro. This info is based on the company’s audited financial statements released in June. (Click for original)
As of December 31, 2013, PDVSA confronted $8.47 billion in “claims and legal actions” in addition to those brought by nationalized Lake Maracaibo service firms, such as Tidewater Inc., Simco Consortium, Exterran Holdings, and Helmerich & Payne. This data comes from the Bolivarian Republic’s audited financial statements published in June. (Click for original)
So, what really is a potential claim of over $6 billion?
PS: I know, I kinda suggested on Twitter that this was a $6 billion fraud. That might be a little over the top, since fraud normally means there’s an intent to mislead. It’s also very possible the people handling these numbers just hav no clue what they’re doing.