VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Russia's leading oil producer, Rosneft has proposed investing another $500 million in Venezuela's state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA, to increase their stake from the original 16.7%. The proposition has come at a time when the country has declared an economic emergency after oil prices dropped to an alarming $24 a barrel.

Venezuela, struggling to pay for essential items such as food and medicine amid strict foreign currency controls, may have failed to collect about a third of its potential oil revenue in 2014, a Reuters analysis suggests.

A subtle change in office attire may be the most telling symbol of a quiet revolution taking place inside Venezuela's troubled economic engine, giant oil firm PDVSA.

Potential buyers from at least six leading oil companies have visited Citgo Petroleum Corp’s refinery in Illinois and three firms have shown keen interest in its Texas plant, four sources familiar with efforts to sell the assets said.

Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA [PDVSA.UL] is seeking preliminary offers for its U.S. unit Citgo Petroleum Corp [PDVSAC.UL] by the end of September, a deal that could fetch up to $10 billion, according to two people familiar with the matter.

On June 9, with his 150-year-old Portuguese corporate dynasty close to collapse, patriarch Ricardo Espirito Santo Salgado made a desperate attempt to save it.

Russia's No. 2 oil producer Lukoil is looking to put up for sale its 20% stake in a Russian consortium developing a large oil project in Venezuela. Lukoil is in talks with international players after Rosneft offered a price lower than what Lukoil had asked.

State oil company PDVSA and Spain's Repsol had been in talks regarding a venture funding in Venezuela, said a report from Reuters.