February 8, 2005
Venezuelan PDVSA Jan-Nov 2004 earnings estimated at $6.6 bln

(Latin America News Digest) -"Venezuelan state oil and gas monopoly Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) earned $6.6 bln (5.17 bln euro) in the period from January to November, Rafael Ramírez, the president of the state entity and Energy and Mines Minister of Venezuela said on February 7.

Ramírez qualified the figure as extraordinary and added that the earnings of PDVSA were influenced by the high crude oil prices. In comparison, the net profit of PDVSA in the period from January to November 2003 totalled $3.51 bln (2.75 bln euro), while in the same period of 1999 they stood at $2.404 bln (1.88 bln euro).

The assets of the company reached $65.092 bln (51 bln euro) in 2004, up from $55.259 bln (43.3 bln euro) in 2003. The short-term debt of the state-run company fell to $432 mln (338.5 mln euro) in 2004 from $1.817 bln (1.42 bln euro) in 2003.

In 2005, PDVSA plans to invest $5.632 bln (4.41 bln euro) and to reduce operating costs to $5.696 bln (4.46 bln euro). Venezuela is the fifth-largest oil exporter worldwide".