Venezuela to move state oil firm from Lisbon to Moscow
Tehran (KNA) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has ordered state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) to relocate its office in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon to the Russian capital of Moscow.
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez made the announcement at a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Friday.
"We are going to make industrial investments to produce everything we need in our country with the Russian Federation's help," said Rodriguez, adding that Caracas was looking forward to expanding oil production cooperation with Russian oil giants.
The Venezuelan vice president explained that the relocation would be made to safeguard Venezuela's state assets, citing the Bank of England's reluctance to hand over her country's gold supplies as an example that demonstrated how Europe was no longer providing such protection.
The Bank of England has withheld nearly 1.2 billion dollars' worth of Venezuelan gold following a request from US officials.
Source: PressTV