(Reuters, 4.May.2020) — Venezuela’s oilfields produced 687,000 barrels of crude last Saturday, up from 653,000 barrels on Friday but below the 718,000 barrels per day (bpd) the country said it produced in March, according to documents seen by Reuters on Monday. The drop came as output in the country’s Orinoco […]
Category: Latin America and the Caribbean
Mexico Indefinitely Halts New Clean-Energy Plans
(Bloomberg, 2.May.2020) — Mexico’s Centro Nacional de Control de Energia (Cenace), which oversees the electrical system, indefinitely suspended critical tests for new clean-energy projects as the nation grapples with the spread of the coronavirus. Preoperative tests of intermittent power plants would be suspended along with other measures to increase the […]
Milbank Part Of $2bn Ecopetrol Offering
(Milbank, 1.May.2020) — Milbank LLP represented the underwriters, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Scotia Capital, in connection with the $2bn SEC-registered offering of notes due 2030 by Ecopetrol, Colombia’s state-owned oil and gas major. This marks the first capital raise by Ecopetrol since 2016 and one of the few capital […]
Environmental Restoration Work Continues In Ecuador
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 1.May.2020) — Intervention activities continue at 40 defined sites in Ecuador, of which at least 220 focal points have been established to concentrate on environmental restoration actions along areas affected by oil spills on 7 April 2020 caused by natural ruptures of the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline […]
Milbank In $2Bn Ecopetrol Bond Offering
(Milbank, 1.May.2020) — Milbank LLP represented the underwriters, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Scotia Capital, in connection with the $2 billion SEC-registered offering of notes due 2030 by Ecopetrol, Colombia’s state-owned oil and gas major. This marks the first capital raise by Ecopetrol since 2016 and one of the few […]
Petrobras Faces Virus Outbreak Offshore
(Bloomberg, 1.May.2020) — Petrobras, the Brazilian producer tapping some of the largest offshore oil finds this century, is confronting a Covid-19 outbreak in exploration platforms as the pandemic gains speed in the country. At the Xareu exploration project off the coast of Ceara, 42 out of 45 employees at two […]
PDV Holding And Aruba Govt To End Refinery Project
(PDV Holding, 1.May.2020) — PDV Holding, Inc., and the Government of Aruba/Refineria di Aruba (RDA) today executed an amicable termination agreement in relation to the contract for the San Nicolás Aruba Refinery Project. The agreement was completed following parliamentary approval. The final agreement provides that PDV Holdings and its subsidiaries […]
YPF Names New CEO As Vaca Muerta Faces Setback
(Upstream, 1.May.2020) — Argentine oil company YPF has appointed industry veteran Sergio Affronti as chief executive, replacing Daniel Gonzalez, amid headwinds from the coronavirus pandemic and the collapse in oil prices. Affronti built his career in Argentine oilfields in the Mendoza and Neuquen provinces, and in the Gulf of San […]
Enel Chile Reports Filing Of The 2019 Annual Report
(Enel Chile, 30.Apr.2020) — Enel Chile, announced its 2019 Annual Report on Form 20-F has been filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on April 30th, 2020. Enel Chile is a company engaged in the electricity generation, distribution and services businesses in Chile through Enel Generación Chile S.A., […]
Ecopetrol Exploration Activities Update
(Ecopetrol, 30.Apr.2020) — It is the first link in Ecopetrol’s value chain. Its main objective is to explore, discover and appraise commercially viable hydrocarbon accumulations, seeking to ensure the reserve replacement required for the sustainability of the Ecopetrol Group. To centralize, unify and manage hydrocarbon exploration activities, Ecopetrol has an […]
Pemex Posts Massive $23.6bn 1Q:20 Loss
(Reuters,30.Apr.2020) — Mexican state oil company Pemex on Thursday said it had posted a $23.6 billion (562.13 billion peso) loss in the first quarter due to falling crude prices as well as a sharp drop in the value of the peso during the first three months of the year. The […]
US Seeks To Investigate Mexico Oil-For-Food Pact
(Reuters, 29.Apr.2020) — The U.S. State Department, the Treasury Department and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico are investigating at least two Mexican firms involved in an oil-for-food pact signed in 2019 with Venezuela’s government, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. Mexico-based Libre Abordo and an affiliated company, Schlager Business Group, have […]
TGS Files 2019 Annual Report On Form 20-F
(TGS, 29.Apr.2020) — Transportadora de Gas del Sur S.A. today it filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 (the “2019 Annual Report”) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The 2019 Annual Report can be accessed by visiting the Company’s […]
Petrobras Powers Past Oil Glut On China Sales
(Bloomberg, 29.Apr.2020) — Petrobras, Brazil’s state-controlled oil giant, is plowing through a global oil glut expecting that exports to China will soon rebound, and with extensive storage capacity helping it endure in the meantime. Demand destruction from the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted producers globally to shut in barrels nobody wants. […]
Is PDVSA Abandoning Its Socialist Agenda?
(Oilprice.com, 29.Apr.2020) — Venezuela seems to be changing tactics when it comes to managing its oil resources. PDVSA is considering a major industry reform that would increase private company activities in its troubled oil industry, according to a document seen by Reuters. This would be a far cry from its […]
A Political Crisis Threatens To Derail Guyana’s Oil Boom
(World Politics Review, 28.Apr.2020) — Despite growing signs of a dramatic and global economic downturn stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, the small South American country of Guyana appears poised for a period of spectacular economic growth. In its recent semiannual report on Latin America and the Caribbean, the World Bank […]
Fire Reduces Venezuelan Heavy Crude Flow
(Reuters, 28.Apr.2020) — The latest fire to erupt at one of Venezuelan state-owned PdV’s oil installations has temporarily knocked out up to 130,000 b/d of heavy crude production from three of the firm’s joint ventures with foreign partners. PdV said today it has extinguished the blaze, which broke out on […]
PDVSA Proposes Selling Oil Assets To Private Sector
(Forbes, 28.Apr.2020) — In a total about-face on the “socialism” and “communism” and the Yankee-Go-Home attitude of the ruling Socialists United of Venezuela (PSUV), the country’s beleaguered and bankrupt oil firm PdVSA has apparently thrown in the towel. They think it’s a good idea that the closed economy starts selling […]
Petrobras Starts BSBios Binding Phase
(Petrobras. 27.Apr.2020) — Petrobras, following up on the press release disclosed on 23 January 2020, informs that its wholly-owned subsidiary Petrobras Biocombustível S.A. (PBio), on its behalf and representing its partner RP Biocombustível Ltda, is initiating the binding phase of the competitive process regarding the joint sale of all shares […]
Petrobras Reverses Production Cuts
(Reuters, 27.Apr.2020) — Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras has reversed most of its previously announced production cuts due to higher-than-expected demand for some fuels, it said on Monday, a surprising turnaround that may be tied to an aggressive bet on bunker fuel. In a Monday securities filing with first-quarter production […]
Venezuela Floats Lean PdV With Russia Unit
(Argus, 27.Apr.2020) — The two Maduro loyalists who have been effectively running Venezuela’s national oil industry for two months were officially appointed today as acting heads of the oil ministry and PdV, with a mandate to dismantle the company’s bloated Chavez-era organization in favor of a lean structure featuring a […]
Gerdau S.A. Files Form 20-F
(Gerdau, 27.Apr.2020) — Gerdau S.A. hereby announces that the Form 20-F related to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil (CVM) and is available at the Company’s Investor Relations Website (www.gerdau.com/investidores). Shareholders […]
Pemex To Prioritize Lower-cost Production
(Reuters, 27.Apr.2020) — Mexico’s state oil firm Pemex on Monday detailed measures aimed at mitigating the effects of a steep drop in oil prices, saying it would prioritize lower-cost production that would allow the government to comply with its “international commitments.” Petroleos Mexicanos, as the firm is formally known, detailed […]
Mexican Oil Platforms Cut Staff Over Coronavirus
(Reuters, 26.Apr.2020) — Mexico has begun removing staff from Gulf of Mexico oil platforms to limit the spread of the coronavirus, leaving essential personnel on board, state oil firm Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) said on Sunday. Pemex said in a statement that workers had started coming off the rigs as Mexico […]
Why Mexico’s Oil Industry Is Destined For Disaster
(Oilprice.com, 25.Apr.2020) — Mexico has somewhat inadvertently found itself at the heart of the oil industry’s most burning issues of 2020 – just when it seemed that Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United States and a whole array of prominent oil-producing countries reached an agreement on future OPEC+ production cuts, the […]
Ecuador Names New Electricity Vice Minister
(Energy Analytics Institute, 24.Apr.2020) — Ecuador appointed engineer Jose Luis Peña Arteaga as the country’s new vice minister of electricity and alternative energies. The official assumed the responsibilities after compliance with Ecuadorian law, the ministry announced 24 April 2020 in an official statement. __________ By Piero Stewart. © Energy Analytics […]
Argentina’s YPF SA Files Form 20-F
(YPF, 24.Apr.2020) — YPF SA announced that it has filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including audited financial statements. The document is available on the YPF website at http://www.ypf.com in the Investor Relations section, […]
CPFL Energia Files 20-F Form Annual Report With the SEC
(CPFL, 24.Apr.2020) — CPFL Energia announces that its 2019 20-F Form annual report has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 24, 2020 and is available on the company’s Investor Relations website (www.cpfl.com.br/ir). Investors can receive a printed copy of the report, free of charge, including […]
Moody’s Assigns Baa3 Rating To Ecopetrol Notes
(Moody’s 24.Apr.2020) — Moody’s Investors Service assigned a Baa3 rating to Ecopetrol S.A.’s proposed new global notes. The Baa3 rating on the proposed notes is based on the rating of Ecopetrol. The proposed notes are senior unsecured, unsubordinated and pari passu with Ecopetrol’s other senior foreign currency debt. Proceeds from […]
Argentina Plans Higher Local Oil Price
(Reuters, 23.Apr.2020) — Argentina plans to issue a decree setting a higher local oil barrel price to protect the domestic industry from being further decimated by a collapse in global prices and slumping fuel demand due to the coronavirus pandemic, two industry sources told Reuters on Thursday. The locally-set oil […]
Pemex Declares Force Majeure On Fuel Imports
(Reuters, 23.Apr.2020) — Mexican state oil company Pemex has declared force majeure over fuel imports from its trading arm PMI Comercio Internacional, two sources with knowledge of the decision said Thursday, as demand craters due to fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Many gasoline and diesel importers around the world have […]
Pemex’s Trading Arm Declares Force Majeure
(Bloomberg, 23.Apr.2020) — Mexico, the largest recipient of U.S. gasoline exports, is seeking to cancel imports of the fuel from at least one U.S. company amid the rippling effects of the coronavirus on demand. Petroleos Mexicanos’s trading unit, PMI, declared force majeure on imports of gasoline as an armada of […]
Iran Ships Material To Help Repair PDVSA Refinery
(Reuters, 23.Apr.2020) — Venezuela has received refining materials via plane shipment from Iran to help it start the catalytic cracking unit at the 310,000 barrels-per-day Cardon refinery, which is necessary to produce gasoline, an official said on Thursday. The shipments mark a new stage in cooperation between the two OPEC […]
Venezuela’s Oil Output Could Fall Again Soon
(Oilprice.com, 23.Apr.2020) — On Tuesday, the Trump administration told the last remaining American oil companies in Venezuela that they had until December to wind down operations in the country. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a new license that only authorizes “limited maintenance of essential operations” […]
Mexico Announces Emergency $25.5bn Package
(S&P Global Platts, 22.Apr.2020) — Mexico announced a Peso 622.56 billion ($25.5 billion) package on Wednesday that will help the nation face the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, with the focus on Pemex, the state-controlled oil firm. The emergency budget will be aimed at 38 priority projects of the […]
Talos Energy To Announce 1Q:20 Results 6 May 2020
(Talos, 22.Apr.2020) — Talos Energy Inc. intends to release first quarter 2020 results for the period ended March 31, 2020 on Wednesday 6 May 2020 after the U.S. financial market closes. In addition to this release, Talos Energy will host a conference call, which will be broadcast live over the […]
Exxon Among 34 Vying To Market Guyana’s Oil
(Stabroek News, 22.Apr.2020) — Thirty-four companies have submitted expressions of interests (EOIs) to market Guyana’s entitlement from the Exxon-operated Liza Destiny FPSO in the Stabroek Block, offshore Guyana. The companies include the Stabroek Block operator ExxonMobil, current marketer Shell Western Supply and Trading Ltd, former British Petroleum Company BP, Norway’s […]
Chevron Barred From Drilling In Venezuela
(Reuters, 22.Apr.2020) — Chevron Corp has been banned from drilling or transporting oil in Venezuela and its assets there are “mothballed” as the Trump administration cracks down on money going to the government of socialist President Nicolas Maduro, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday. The restriction is expected to […]
Ecopetrol On 2019 Earnings Distribution
(Ecopetrol, 22.Apr.2020) — Ecopetrol S.A. informs the ordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting, held on 7 March 2020, approved the earnings distribution proposal presented for their consideration, which establishes the distribution of an ordinary dividend per share of one hundred and eighty pesos (COP$ 180). The dividend of the minority shareholders will […]
Chevron In Effect Barred From Venezuela
(Bloomberg, 21.Apr.2020) — Chevron Corp. will be forced to effectively wind down its operations in Venezuela, dealing the Maduro regime’s crumbling oil industry another blow as U.S. President Donald Trump maneuvers for regime change in the Latin American nation. The U.S. Treasury Department will no longer allow the company to […]
Over 30 Cos Vie For Guyana Oil Trading Contract
(Reuters, 21.Apr.2020) — More than 30 companies, including commodities traders like Gunvor and Vitol as well as units of oil majors like Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell, submitted expressions of interest for a contract to market the Guyanese government’s share of the country’s crude, the government said on Tuesday. […]
Trump Tells Chevron To “Wind Down” In Venezuela
(AP, 21.Apr.2020) — The Trump administration on Tuesday ordered Chevron Corp. to “wind down” operations in Venezuela by Dec. 1, barring the California-based oil giant in the meantime from drilling or exporting, as the U.S. increases pressure on President Nicolás Maduro to give up power. Chevron is the last major […]
Brazilian Producer Appoints MiX To Monitor Its Fleets
(MiX, 21.Apr.2020) — MiX Telematics confirmed that one of Brazil’s largest ethanol and sugar producers have appointed MiX Telematics to assist in modifying driver behavior and reducing vehicle collisions. The major industry player accounts for 10% of ethanol supply in Brazil; grinding 27 million tons of sugarcane in one harvest […]
Trinidad Monitoring Oil Prices On Global Market
(Jamaica Gleaner, 21.Apr.2020) — The Trinidad and Tobago Government Tuesday urged nationals not to panic as the oil-and-gas-rich country prepared to count the possible loss of billions of dollars in revenue as a result of the historic drop in oil prices on the global market. “Oil and gas are cyclical. It […]
Ecopetrol Files Form 20-F For Fiscal Year 2019
(Ecopetrol, 20.Apr.2020) — Ecopetrol S.A. announced filing of its annual report under Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). With the filing of its annual report under Form 20-F the Company complies with its reporting obligations with the […]
How Will The Oil $$ Crash Affect Trinidad And Tobago?
(Trinidad Express, 20.Apr.2020) — History was created on the global oil market today when the price of the US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, plunged into negative territory for the first time ever. At 2.30 p.m. today in New York, where the WTI benchmark is traded, the futures price of American […]
Raizen Halts Crude Runs At Buenos Aires Refinery
(Argus, 19.Apr.2020) — Raizen has suspended operations at its 110,000 b/d Buenos Aires refinery in response to the plunge in oil demand caused by coronavirus restrictions. Raizen, a joint venture between Shell and Brazilian energy and logistics conglomerate Cosan, halted crude processing on 17 April after running out of storage. […]
Petrobras Starts Papa-Terra Binding Phase
(Petrobras, 17.Apr.2020) — Petrobras, following up on the press release disclosed on 3 February 2020, announces that it has started the binding phase referring to the sale of its entire stake at the Papa-terra field, located in deepwater in the Campos Basin. Qualified parties for this phase will receive a […]
Petrobras Says S&P Maintains Scale Rating
(Petrobras, 17.Apr.2020) — Petrobras announces the rating agency S&P Global Ratings affirmed the ”BB-” global scale rating for Petrobras, with a stable outlook. The stand-alone credit profile remained at “bb”, one notch above the sovereign. S&P highlighted that the company’s liquidity position remains strong despite forecasted lower operating cash flow […]
Guyana’s Oil Dream: A Tale Of Smoke And Mirrors
(Jamaica Gleaner, 17.Apr.2020) — Picture soaring sky-scrapers with glistening glass windows adorning cathedrals of steel that dominate the illuminated skyline. This image encapsulates the dreams of many developing countries which seek to achieve unparalleled development, especially upon discovery of vast resource deposits. Expectations for these nations are initially high, with […]