(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 25.May.2018) ‐- Venezuela’s state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela owes an estimated $1 billion to its partners in the Cardón IV natural gas project offshore.
Gas Energy Latin America Partner Antero Alvarado told Petroguía in interview that Caracas-based PDVSA is accumulating estimated monthly expenses of $60 million for the purchase of gas from Repsol and Eni.
Financial problems at the project relate to indefiniteness of exports, tariff lags, and accumulated debts PDVSA has with the foreign partners that have the licenses, according to Alvarado.
Spain’s Repsol and Italy’s Eni, joint operators, discovered the Perla field in 2009. Initial production at the field, located in shallow waters in the Gulf of Venezuela, commenced in 2015 at 150 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d). Two additional phases of the project’s development were planned to boost production to 800 MMcf/d in 2017 and then a peak of 1,200 MMcf/d in 2020, according to Eni data. The Perla field is also expected to be producing 15,000 barrels per day (b/d) of condensate, which will rise to 38,000 b/d by 2020.
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