Rig deal: Rafael Ramirez
Ensco gives PDVSA a discount
US oil services outfit Ensco has agreed to offer Venezuela lower rates for drilling, Venezuelan Oil MInister Rafael Ramirez said.
The decision to cut its dayrates come after Venezuela took over an Ensco rig in a payment dispute.
Reuters quoted Ramirez as saying Venezuela had negotiated lower rates after costs spiked during last year's jump in crude prices, but did not say if state-run producer PDVSA resolved $36 million in debts that sparked the dispute with Ensco.
"We have held discussions with the drilling companies and we have reached agreements with a group of them ... Ensco is one," Ramirez told reporters. He did not offer details on the agreement.
Ramirez also heads PDVSA.
In January, Ensco said PDVSA was temporarily operating the ENSCO 69 jack-up drilling rig under supervision of Ensco personnel and that it was negotiating an agreement satisfactory to both companies.
Ensco is due to provide drilling services to Chevron as part of an offshore gas project in Venezuela.
PDVSA has built up massive debts with providers that have led to growing conflicts with service companies.
US-based driller Helmerich & Payne said in February that it began idling rigs because PDVSA owes it $100 million.