(Energy Analytics Institute, 28.Jul.2021) — Energy briefs from the Latin America and Caribbean region including: rising Brazilian imports of US LNG, Ecopetrol’s electric vehicles fleet, Hess reports 2Q:21 results, Trinidad ponders mothballing Atlantic LNG’s Train 1, new appointments at CVP in Venezuela, and more.
Brazil
— Brazil’s imports of US LNG reached 387 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) in April 2021, up from nil in April 2020, according to details revealed by the US-based Energy Information Administration (EIA). Ongoing drought conditions in Brazil have spurred the country’s rising demand for LNG imports.
Colombia
— State-controlled Ecopetrol eyes a fleet of 60 electric vehicles, of which 23 are electric cars in operation in Barrancabermeja, Cartagena and Neiva as well as a combination of 37 additional cars and buses in the 2H:21 and 1H:22, Ecopetrol announced in an infograph. The electric vehicles will assist to reduce 170 tons of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2e) each year – equivalent to restoring 16 hectares of forest, the company said.
Guyana
— US-based Hess reported results of operations for the second quarter 2021. Highlights and Key Developments: A significant new oil discovery at Whiptail on the Stabroek Block, offshore Guyana; adds to previous gross discovered recoverable resource estimate for the block of approximately 9 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe). Reduced debt by $500mn in July by prepaying half of the corporation’s $1bn term loan maturing in March 2023. Expects to receive net proceeds of approximately $375mn in the 3Q:21 from an agreement announced today by Hess Midstream LP to repurchase from its sponsors $750mn of Class B units of Hess Midstream Operations LP. Plans to add a third rig in the Bakken in September.
Trinidad and Tobago
— Heard on the Street: Trinidad’s government could make an imminent announcement this week about mothballing Atlantic LNG’s Train 1, which has been offline since December 2020, sources in Port of Spain tell Energy Analytics Institute.
Venezuela
— According to Venezuela’s Official Gazette No. 42,171, dated 19 July 2021, Erick Jacinto Pérez Rodríguez was appointed as CVP President as well as Vice President of Exploration and Production at PDVSA while Erwin Hernández Hernández was appointed as Vice President of International Affairs at PDVSA. Pérez Rodríguez, who is also Vice Minister of Hydrocarbons, has a broad experience of more than 15 years within the sector, occupying different positions in PDVSA.
— “Potentially, as global energy markets shift towards decarbonization, natural gas could still meet part of the energy demand, given its multiple uses (heating, industry, and electricity), but also as a source of hydrogen in the long run,” IESA adjunct professor Igor Hernandez and Baker Institute Center research analyst Jose La Rosa Reyes wrote in a coauthored report for Chatham House on Venezuela. “Legal and institutional reforms alone are not sufficient to attract investors to Venezuela. An array of political, economic and security risks need to be addressed while also navigating the energy transition.”
— Venezuela’s massive proven natural gas reserves — estimated at 221.1 trillion cubic feet, the world’s seventh largest, according to BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy — offer foreign investors seeking low carbon energy alternatives with significant export potential. However, Venezuela’s political uncertainties continue to deter foreign investors
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By Ian Silverman and Piero Stewart. © Energy Analytics Institute (EAI). All Rights Reserved.
