SLB and Formentera Work to Reactivate Venezuela's Oil Rigs
Oil service provider SLB and private equity firm Formentera Partners are working to reactivate oil rigs in Venezuela or import additional rigs into the country. According to Blake London, managing partner of Formentera, his company is in discussions with international service providers to bring drilling rigs into Venezuela.
The number of active onshore drilling rigs in Venezuela was only two at the end of July, according to Baker Hughes data. This has put a ceiling on production capacity in the country, currently around 1.25 million barrels per day, according to official numbers.
Foreign oil service providers have faced obstacles when importing specialized equipment due to permits and ground transportation issues, but they are working to move some rigs from other countries while negotiating with the Venezuelan government to ease the process.