Shell finalises agreement with Venezuela

Royal Dutch Shell PLC became the first major oil company to finalize a joint venture agreement with the Venezuelan government that brings oil pumping operations under state control.

The Anglo-Dutch company signed a new contract replacing its previous agreement to independently pump oil at the Urdaneta West field, the state-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, said in a statement late on Friday.

The new contract gives PDVSA a 60 per cent stake in operations at the 45,000-barrel-a-day oil field and leaves Shell with the remaining 40 per cent.

Further details of the contract terms were not immediately available.
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