The Daily Journal.- Florida oil tycoon Harry Sargeant III agreed to sell his stake in a Venezuelan oil producer after the Trump administration exerted strong pressure on him to abandon his business interests in the country.
According to Bloomberg, the parties signed the deal just hours before the U.S. Treasury Department announced measures against Sargeant’s company, which operates in the Caribbean nation. The transaction marked the businessman’s exit after years of serving as an unofficial communication channel between Washington and Caracas.
In that context, Sargeant reached an agreement last Friday to sell Bluewave Properties Ltd. to Venezuela’s second-largest oil producer for $300 million. Through Bluewave, Sargeant held a stake in North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP).
NABEP, in which Sargeant held a minority stake, increased its production to approximately 160,000 barrels per day, according to PDVSA data. The buyer reportedly has ties to Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt, NABEP’s majority shareholder.
With information from Bloomberg
