ONGC Eyes Venezuelan Oil Project Control as Stalled Dividends Await Clear Path

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Company's foreign operations arm, ONGC Videsh, expects to secure operatorship rights for crude oil projects in Venezuela within the next three to six months. Director of Finance Anupam Agarwal shared this update during a post-results call with analysts. ONGC Videsh currently holds a 40 percent interest in the San Cristobal project, while the rest belongs to Venezuela's national oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., known as PDVSA. The company also holds an 11 percent stake in the Carabobo project.

Operations And Finances

Discussions with project partners and the Venezuelan government are currently in an advanced stage. The firm has already secured necessary approvals and OFAC clearances for the new arrangements. Under the updated system, ONGC Videsh will operate the San Cristobal field fully and take part in joint operations at Carabobo, giving them the right to offtake, sell, and manage fiscal duties. Company officials stated that over $500 million in dividends stuck in Venezuela will be recouped once these operatorship rights are finalized. The prior system left crude sale rights solely with Venezuela's national oil company, which caused the dividend payments to get stuck.

International Assets

Aside from the Venezuelan projects, ONGC Videsh has used stuck dividends from the Vankor project in Russia to cover abandonment fund liabilities in the Sakhalin-1 project. Oil production from the Sakhalin asset averaged 183 thousand barrels per day, matching levels seen before the Russia-Ukraine conflict began in 2022. ONGC Videsh officially re-entered this particular project in December 2025.

Context

International energy firms often hold minority stakes in foreign oil ventures where the host nation retains control over sales and marketing. When political shifts or sanctions interfere with revenue transfers, companies look for operational control to recover pending dues through direct product sales. This strategy allows foreign investors to manage cash flows more securely within complex geopolitical environments.