Eni restarted Venezuela oil lifting in April as payment-in-kind for gas

MILAN, May 4 (Reuters) - Eni ENI.MI restarted lifting Venezuelan crude oil in April as payment-in-kind for gas produced in the country, the Italian energy group said on Monday, adding the move would allow it to recover longstanding receivables from Caracas.

The payments stem from an agreement signed in March between Venezuelan oil company PDVSA and Cardon IV, an equally owned joint venture between Eni and Spain's Repsol REP.MC that produces gas from the Perla field.

Under the deal, payments for gas sales are made in kind, with the first shipment of Venezuelan-origin crude lifted in April, Eni said in written answers to questions ahead of its annual shareholder meeting on May 6.

Eni said the resumption of oil cargo lifting comes as U.S. sanctions on Venezuela have been gradually eased since January through a series of general licences issued by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The changed regulatory framework allows Eni to continue operating in Venezuela and, over the medium term, to assess a possible strengthening of its activities there, it said.

Eni was owed around $3.3 billion by PDVSA at the end of last year, including around $1 billion in accrued interest, it said in its annual report.

In its balance sheet, Eni reported a recoverable value for the receivables linked to its Venezuelan activities at 880 million euros at the end of 2025.