Harvest Natural Reports Termination Of Deal To Sell Final Stakes In Venezuela

(RTTNews) - Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (HNR) said the share purchase agreement or SPA between Petroandina Resources Corporation N.V., Pluspetrol Resources Corporation B.V., Harvest and HNR Energia B.V., an unit of Harvest, for the purchase of Harvest's remaining interests in Venezuela for $275.0 million in cash has been terminated, due to the failure to obtain approval of the transaction from the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela by December 31, 2014.

Representatives of the Venezuelan Government and Corporacion Venezolana del Petroleo S.A. or CVP, a PDVSA affiliate who along with another PDVSA affiliate holds a 60% interest in Petrodelta, informed Harvest and Petroandina that any approval of the contemplated transaction would be conditioned on Petroandina guaranteeing an unspecified bonus payment for access to Petrodelta's reserves and $1.52 billion of financing for Petrodelta.

With the termination of the SPA, Harvest would retain its 20.4% stake in Petrodelta and Petroandina would retain its 11.6% shareholding in Petrodelta, which it had purchased from Harvest for $125 million in cash on December 16, 2013.