(Energy Analytics Institute, 30.Sep.2013) – Information in this section, provided by Energy Analytics Institute editors and reporters, is hearsay and thus should be treated as such.
The names of our many sources have been withheld to protect their identities and family members in Venezuela.
COMBUSTIBLES
- A number of gasoline stations along VenezuelaColombia border remain closed due to a lack of supply. [El Universal]
CORPORATE SUITE
- Venezuelan Oil Minister and PDVSA President Rafael Ramirez was named as Venezuela’s Economic Vice President by President Nicolas Maduro. [EAI]
CROSS BORDER DEALS
- T&T and Venezuela signed a cross border natural gas deal. Deal signed by Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez and Trinidad Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine. [EAI]
- Trinidad Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine was been under pressure in Trinidad for recent agreements reached with Venezuela regarding cross-border commercialization deals for the Loran-Manatee gas fields. [EAI]
- Central American energy connection could reduce prices from Guatemala to Panama. [El Espectador]
DISCOVERIES
- Colombia’s state oil company Ecopetrol announces new oil discovery at Guainiez-1 well in Guaroa. [EAI]
DIVESTMENTS
- Chile’s ENAP sells 49% interest in Primax Peru and Primax Ecuador for $312 mln. [El Universo]
ELECTRIC SECTOR
- YPFB Corp. completed 23,141 domestic gas connections in May.2013. [La Razon]
- Interconexión Eléctrica S.A (ISA) wins bid for design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of Encuentro-Lagunas project in Chile. [Portafolio.co]
- Peru’s Energy and Mining Ministry has identified hydrocarbon and electric sector projects worth $26,530 mln thru YE:20. [El Comercio.pe]
- Electric consumption in Uruguay reaches 1,808 MW on Jun.20.2013 up from record of 1,745 MW achieved on Jul.4.2011. [El Pais]
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
- Bolivian officials search for hydrocarbon investments and technology at Russian Gas Forum [La Razon]
- Gas output in Bolivia reached 57.08 MMcm/d in the 1Q:13, up 24.2% compared with 45.94 MMcm/d in the 1Q:12. [La Razon]
- Bolivia’s average production was 56.2 MMcm/d in the first five months of 2013. [El Espectador]
- YPFB plans investments of $8,406 mln during 2013-2016. [La Razon]
- YPFB Petroandina SAM President Jaime Arancibia announced the Lliquimuni block could contain 1 Tcf. [La Razon]
- France’s Total announced plans to develop the 3 Tcf Incahuasi field in Bolivia, after drilling the ICS-2 exploration well. [La Razon]
- Russia’s Rosneft is interested in investing in exploration and development activities in Bolivia. [La Razon]
- Repsol’s oil production in Bolivia rose to 3,400 b/d from 2,600 b/d. [La Razon]
- Ecuador’s Hydrocarbon Secretariat expects oil production to average 518,503 b/d in 2013, up from 503,610 b/d in 2012. [EAI]
- Ecuador’s Hydrocarbon Secretariat expects the country’s petroleum sector will realize investments of $3.6 bln in 2013, up from $2 bln in 2012. [EAI]
- Extraction of oil in the Yasuni National Park will utilize new technologies, Wilson Pastor said on state television. [EAI]
- Ecuador gov’t cancels $34.5 mln committed by Germany for the protection of the Yasuni National Park. [EAI]
- Mexico’s state oil company Pemex creates company to search for oil deep offshore and shale gas in the USA.
- Venezuela’s Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said during an interview on Venezuelan state television or VTV that the decision to stop sending oil to the US had to be taken by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. [EAI]
ENERGY REFORMS
- Mexico’s left is betting on more autonomy for Pemex without changing the constitution.
EXPORT-IMPORT
- Venezuela is looking for additional partner(s) for the Mariscal Sucre gas project offshore, Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez says. [EAI]
- Spanish gov’t requests legal security and respect for the rules of the game in Argentina. [La Nacion]
- Venezuelan imports of electricity from Colombia continue to increase. [El Universal]
- Gas imported by Argentina and Brazil up 56.95% and 20.26%, respectively, in the 1Q:13 compared with the 1Q:12 [La Razon]
- Argentina imported 14.63 MMcm/d from Bolivia in the 1Q:13 compared with 9.32 MMcm/d in the 1Q:12 [La Razon]
- Brazil imported 32.01 MMcm/d from Bolivia in the 1Q:13 compared with 26.62 MMcm/d in the 1Q:12 [La Razon]
- Bolivia exported an average 14.1 MMcm/d of gas to Argentina in the first five months of 2013. [El Espectador]
- Bolivia exported an average 31.3 MMcm/d of gas to Brazil in the first five months of 2013. [El Espectador]
- Enarsa owes YPFB $180 mln for gas deliveries made in Mar.2013 [La Razon]
- PDVSA currently exports 330,000 b/d to India but plans to increase this figure to 400,000 b/d, PDVSA President Rafael Ramirez said. The official said PDVSA is also exporting 630,000 b/d to China. [EAI]
- PDVSA owed $270 mln by Paraguay’s Petropar according to Paraguayan News Portal. [EAI]
FINANCE / EQUITY AND DEBT OFFERINGS
Colombia:
- Ecopetrol $900 mln bond issue was oversubscribed by 3.1 times. [El Espectador]
- Ecopetrol road show was led by Bank of America and visited fixed income investors in Singapore, London, Hong Kong, Chile and Peru. [El Espectador]
- Ecopetrol road show led by Bank of America visited the following US cities: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston. [El Espectador]
Venezuela:
- Venezuela’s Central Bank (BCV) holds auction for $330mm with PDVSA bonds.
Venezuelan Debt to China:
- China has loaned Venezuela nearly $40 bln to date, excluding new agreements signed recently between the countries, of which $20 bln has been paid back. [EAI]
- Venezuela currently owes $20 bln to China, which represents almost 2.4 months of PDVSA’s revenues assuming oil prices above $100/bbl. [EAI]
- Assuming China were to lend Venezuela another $44 bln, the country would owe the Chinese nearly $64 bln, which is about 6 months of PDVSA revenue with oil prices above $100/bbl. [EAI]
- Venezuelan debt of $64 bln to China would represent almost 7.7 months of PDVSA’s revenues assuming oil prices above $100/bbl. [EAI]
Peru:
- Investments in energy projects in Peru to fall 50% by YE:20. [El Comercio.pe]
Ecuador:
- China’s Industrial and Commercial Bank (ICBC) could finance 70% of Pacific Coast refinery project. [El Comercio]
GENERAL
- Colombia’s National Hydrocarbon Agency (ANH) said the country’s oil reserves were 2,377 MMbbls at YE:12. [Portafolio.co]
- S&P and Fitch raise rating on Emgesa ISA to BBB from BBB-. [Portafolio.co]
- Chinese executives with LinYi Cake Trade Co. visited Bolivia to inspect the construction process and advances at a pilot lithium battery plant in La Palca in Potosi. [La Razon]
HEAVY OIL
- Peru to prioritize $1,500 mln in investments for the integration of heavy oil lots in the northern amazon region [El Comercio.pe]
- PDVSA has 15,000 workers in the Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt of Faja but plans to increase this figure to 40,000, PDVSA President Rafael Ramirez says. [EAI]
- PDVSA, Cupet (Cuba) and Sonangol (Angola) agree to create JV to produce 20,000 b/d in the Faja. [El Nacional]
- PDVSA reports in 10.Oct.2013 press release that it has a 71% interest in PetroCarabobo 1 Faja project, meaning the company assumed Petronas’ 11% interest. Partners in the PetroCarabobo 1 project now include PDVSA (WI 71%), OVL (WI 11%), OIL (WI 3.5%), OIC (WI 3.5%) and Repsol (WI 11%). [EAI]
- Rising drilling costs in the Faja are just one of many issues companies are confronting today. [EAI]
- Russia’s Lukoil announced plans to exit the Junin Block 6 project in the Faja.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Smaller Russian companies are starting to exit the Faja, ceding more control to Rosneft or other Russian entities; a signal that something could definitely be wrong in Venezuela and the Faja. [EAI]
- PDVSA announced during the HOLA 2013 conference that it was looking to utilize its heavy oil techniques in Mexico. [EAI]
LAWSUITS
- Repsol turns down $5,000 mln offer from Argentine gov’t regarding 51% interest expropriated in 2012. [La Nacion]
- Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa says on Ecuadorian state television that US-based Chevron Corp. is an enemy of Ecuador. [EAI]
LNG
- By 2015 Uruguay’s ANCAP expects to be exporting 5 MMcm/d of gas from the Puntos de Sayago regasification plant in Uruguay to Argentina’s YPF. [LaRed21]
PETROCHEMICALS
- Peru to prioritize $3,500 mln in investments for the petrochemical industry. [El Comercio.pe]
PIPELINES
- Peru to prioritize $3,500 mln in investments for the southern gas pipeline. [El Comercio.pe]
PROTESTS / STRIKES
- About 50 workers with Petrocedeno JV in Venezuela demand that PDVSA respect their benefits [El Universal]
REFINERIES
- Peru to prioritize $3,514 mln in investments for the modernization of the Talara refinery. [El Comercio.pe]
Venezuela:
PDVSA’s participation in Abreu e Lima Refinery in Brazil:
- PDVSA President Rafael Ramirez says co. and Petrobras officials continue to discuss JV prospects regarding the Abreu e Lima refinery. [EAI]
- From an operational and strategic business plan point of view, PDVSA’s participation in the Abreu e Lima refinery does not make sense. [EAI]
- Abreu e Lima refinery in Pernambuco could easily source sufficient oil from the Brazil’s offshore pre-salt region w/o having to look to Venezuela for heavy oil. [EAI]
- Any decision PDVSA President Rafael Ramirez takes regarding the company’s participation in Abreu e Lima refinery w/Petrobras will be politically based. [EAI]
Comments regarding Amuay Refinery explosion on 25.Aug.2012:
- PDVSA President Rafael Ramirez says explosion at Amuay refinery was sabotage. Amuay refinery explosion was caused by gas leak at Block B23. As a result of the explosion, 42 persons were killed, 5 are still missing, 150+ were seriously injured. published by the Energy Orientation Center (COENER). [EAI]
- Amuay refinery explosion to cost PDVSA an estimated $1.8 bln, according to COENER. The refinery is processing 645,000 b/d nearly 10 months after major explosion. [Ultimas Noticias]
- PDVSA to spend an estimated $585 mln on maintenance activities at the Amuay and Cardon refineries, PDVSA President Rafael Ramirez says. [EAI]
SOCIAL
- CITGO Corp. donates 625,000 energy saving light bulbs to families in 21 cities in the USA [PDVSA
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