Venezuela was all set to bank from a juicy bit of the profit since Oklahoma based oilfield firm invested a grand total of billion-dollar investment for a period of three years. However, with the recent speculations surrounding Venezuela threatening to halt productions, Horizontal Well Drillers has decided to shut down their operations and move out.
In 2016, the U.S. firm won a contract valued at $1.29 billion dollars to secure 191 wells in Venezuela’s Orinoco belt. The contract was set to boost Venezuela’s impending economic collapse. According to the contract, Horizontal and two firms were asked to finance the work of drilling and maintaining the oil wells until attaining production capabilities.
However, as the contracts were drawn, Horizontal Well Drillers seemed to have garnered a financial broker to secure the funds for the massive operation. And as luck would have it, Venezuela’s economic conditions fell drastically for the deal to be made profitable for all concerned parties involved.
David Moore, an attorney for Callidus, wrote in response to requests for comment that “any reporting on the Horizontal matter would require a meticulous review and understanding of the existing public disclosure, which is utterly lacking from your inquiries.”
In 2017, Swanson stood with Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro in a televised event where the President flaunted the three drilling companies’ ability to pump our 250,000 barrels per day in order to equate to the huge investment. While Swanson who is the former CEO for Horizon refused to make any comments on the ongoing situation, Horizontal’s former President Jeremy Klein somewhat bleached out on making any comments.
Venezuela pumped a million units of crude from January to November of 2019 when the national deal was announced indicating a low output of oil in nearly 77 years of the country’s history. On Tuesday, Horizontal announced a “complete liquidation” policy while the entirety of the equipment going for sale at an auction block in Oklahoma City.
