Repsol’s operations in Venezuela have entered a new phase as the Spanish oil company receives more oil cargoes from the country and as production increases at its joint venture with state oil company PDVSA, Chief Executive Josu Jon Imaz said on Wednesday.

Under a deal authorised by the U.S. that exempted them from sanctions, Repsol REP.MC and other European companies last year agreed with PDVSA to receive Venezuelan oil as payment for debt. Repsol has increased import volumes this year as part of the agreement.

In the second quarter, the company’s Spanish refineries received more than 5 million barrels of crude from Venezuela, up from the 2 million they processed in the previous quarter, Imaz said.

“We are entering a new dynamic in Venezuela, and that is important,” Imaz said on an investor call to discuss second-quarter results.

Repsol is investing in its Petroquiriquire joint venture with PDVSA to increase production, he said, without providing specific numbers.

Petroquiriquire, in which PDVSA has a 60% interest and Repsol the remaining 40%, operates in several areas of Venezuela, including the prolific Monagas North region.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Pietro Lombardi and Marianna Parraga; editing by Charlie Devereux and Rod Nickel)