Debt: PDVSA in debt with contractors
PDVSA lags in payment to contractors
State-run PDVSA lags behind in payment to various contractors since last August, brought about by inadequate online payment program.
The delay has reached such a point that some companies wait four months instead of the usual 30-day agreement to be paid by the company.
The chair of the Venezuelan Association of Contractors of Oil and Related Companies (Acopav) Reneiro Contreras said that PDVSA managers attributed the delay to troubles with SAP, the program used by the company to pay online to the suppliers of goods and services, said El Universal.
He said this is not the first time there is a delay.
This time, however, the protracted term in default of payment made Acopav send letters to the PDVSA finance team.
The Petroleum Chamber of Venezuela also sent letters and conducted several surveys among its affiliates to find out about the average delay for payment.
The Petroleum Chamber labeled the delay as serious and requested a meeting with PDVSA chief financial officer Eudomario Carruyo.
The invoices yet to be paid to contractors are not readily available; however, invoices that were outstanding in 2006 reached $4.4 million and increased 117% to $9.5 million last year, said El Universal.