(Reuters, 17.Apr.2020) — Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras plans to restart operations in the coming days at two ships used in offshore oil production that suffered coronavirus outbreaks, an executive told journalists during a call on Friday. Petrobras Exploration and Production Director Carlos Alberto de Oliveira said operations at the […]
Category: Latin America and the Caribbean
Fitch Downgrades PEMEX, CFE, IEnova And Cometa
(Fitch Ratings, 17.Apr.2020) — Fitch Ratings has downgraded the international Foreign- and Local-Currency Long-Term ratings for Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE), Infraestructura Energetica Nova, S. A. B. de C. V. y Subsidiarias’ (IEnova) and Cometa Energia, S. A. de C. V. following this week’s downgrade of Mexico’s […]
Moody’s Downgrades Pemex’s Ratings To Ba2
(Moody’s, 17.Apr.2020 — Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) downgraded Petroleos Mexicanos’ (PEMEX) senior unsecured ratings on the company’s existing notes, as well as the ratings based on PEMEX’s guarantee, to Ba2 from Baa3. Simultaneously, Moody’s withdrew PEMEX’s Baa3 issuer rating and assigned a Ba2 corporate family rating to the company. Moody’s […]
Petrobras Eyes Restart Oil Ships Hit By Coronavirus
(Reuters, 17.Apr.2020) — Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras plans to restart operations in the coming days at two ships used in offshore oil production that suffered coronavirus outbreaks, an executive told journalists during a call on Friday. Petrobras Exploration and Production Director Carlos Alberto de Oliveira said operations at the […]
Mexico’s New Oil Regulator Says Pemex JVs Likely
(Reuters, 16.Apr.2020) — The head of Mexico’s powerful oil regulator said state oil firm Pemex could seek new joint venture partnerships soon, despite President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s decision to freeze the so-called “farm-outs” in his first year in office. “I think it will happen during this government,” Rogelio Hernandez, […]
Gran Tierra Responds To Price Volatility, COVID-19
(Gran Tierra, 16.Apr.2020) — Gran Tierra Energy Inc. announced a business update regarding the Company’s proactive measures taken to protect its financial strength in response to the large decrease in world oil prices and the impacts of COVID-19. All dollar amounts are in United States dollars and production amounts are […]
US Reviews Need For Venezuela Waivers: Update
(Argus, 16.Apr.2020) — The US is rethinking the premise behind its earlier decision to allow Chevron and other US and international firms to continue their presence in Venezuela, as it steps up the pressure of sanctions designed to force Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro to step down. Chevron and European oil […]
El Palito Restart Sputters, Imports On Horizon
(Argus, 15.Apr.2020) — Venezuelan state-owned PdV’s failed effort to restart its 140,000 b/d El Palito refinery is aggravating a fuel deficit that is sparking sporadic protests by frustrated drivers even as the Covid-19 pandemic starts to spread. On top of escalating US sanctions, PdV’s loss of nearly all its 1.3mn […]
Argentina Sets Stage for Debt Offer With $50Bn Filing
(Bloomberg, 15.Apr.2020) — Argentina registered to issue more than $50 billion in new debt as it prepares to make a painful restructuring offer to holders of its sovereign bonds. The filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission gives an inkling of how much in new securities the country anticipates […]
Brazil’s Petrobras Releases Tax Report For 2019
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 15.Apr.2020) — Brazil’s state oil company Petrobras releases its 2019 tax report, showcasing its economic and social contributions. © Energy Analytics Institute (EAI). All Rights Reserved. ***
Fitch Downgrades Mexico To ‘BBB-‘; Outlook Stable
(Fitch Ratings, 15.Apr.2020) — Fitch Ratings has downgraded Mexico’s Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘BBB-‘ from ‘BBB’. The Rating Outlook is Stable. KEY RATING DRIVERS The economic shock represented by the coronavirus pandemic will lead to a severe recession in Mexico in 2020. A recovery starting in […]
Ecuador Oil Flow Tumbles, Pipeline Repairs Advance
(Argus, 15.Apr.2020) — Ecuador’s oil production dwindled to just 68,000 b/d on 13 April in the wake of weather-related pipeline ruptures last week, forcing state-owned PetroEcuador to reprogram most crude exports into May. PetroEcuador said it has pushed 10 crude export loadings from April to May as it works to […]
Petrobras Begins Halting Ops At 62 Platforms
(Reuters, 15.Apr.2020) — Brazil’s state-owned oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA said on Wednesday it had begun suspending operations of 62 shallow water platforms in the Campos, Sergipe, Potiguar and Ceara basins. Petrobras, as the company is known, had previously announced the shutdowns, which amount to a production cut of 23,000 […]
Ecuador Oil Flow Falls, Pipeline Repairs Advance
(Argus, 15.Apr.2020) — Ecuador’s oil production dwindled to just 68,000 b/d on 13 April in the wake of weather-related pipeline ruptures last week, forcing state-owned PetroEcuador to reprogram most crude exports into May. PetroEcuador said it has pushed 10 crude export loadings from April to May as it works to […]
Guyana Needs Protection From Selling Oil At A Loss
(Stabroek News, 14.Apr.2020) — Before we approve Payara and Hammer-head, let’s renegotiate the contract to include control of how much oil is being pumped given market conditions. Dear Editor, Many of the world’s oil producers have recently agreed to cut back oil production by 10 million barrels a day. The […]
Echo Says Santa Cruz Sur Cash Outflows Reduced
(Echo Energy, 14.Apr.2020) — Echo Energy updated on its production and operations, and on progress in relation to cost reduction and cash management initiatives to ensure cash flow positive operations at Santa Cruz Sur and substantially reduce costs at the corporate level. Production and Operational Update Daily production and operations […]
Brazil Battles Coronavirus Cases On Offshore Rigs
(Reuters, 14.Apr.2020) — There have been 126 confirmed cases of the coronavirus among oil and gas workers in Brazil, including 74 people who were recently on offshore oil platforms, regulator ANP told Reuters on Tuesday, exposing an outbreak far worse than previously thought. The regulator said via email that as […]
MERNNR Extends Deadline For El Aromo, Villonaco
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 14.Apr.2020) — Ecuador will extend the deadline for the submission of offers within the public selection processes for concession of the El Aromo (200 megawatt) photovoltaic and Villonaco II and III (110 megawatt) wind projects planned for the provinces of ManabĂ and Loja, respectively. The […]
Pemex Platform Worker Infected With Coronavirus
(Reuters, 13.Apr.2020) — At least one worker at Mexican state oil company Pemex’s Abkatun-A processing center, in shallow waters in the Gulf of Mexico, has been diagnosed with coronavirus, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. At the end of last week, executives from Abkatun-A reported internally that […]
Mexico Agrees To Reduce Oil Production By 100,000 B/D
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 13.Apr.2020) — Mexico plans to reduce its oil production by 100,000 barrels per day, according to discussions with members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and OPEC+. Representatives from OPEC and OPEC+ lobbied for Mexico to cut production by 400,000 b/d, but the […]
COVID-19 Pandemic Delays Auctions In Brazil
(GlobalData, 13.Apr.2020) — The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MEM) in Brazil, has indefinitely postponed the national energy generation and transmission auctions that were scheduled for May, 2020. This includes both the A-4 and A-6 auctions, as well as tenders for transmission lines. Before the pandemic, the nation’s three-year plan […]
OPEC And Non-OPEC To Cut Output By 9.7 MMb/d
(OPEC, 12.Apr.2020) — The 10th (Extraordinary) OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting was held via videoconference, on Sunday, 12 April 2020, under the Chairmanship of HRH Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, and co-Chair HE Alexander Novak, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation. The Meeting reaffirmed […]
Barrancabermeja Unit Halted After Covid-19 Death
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 11.Apr.2020) — Colombia’s state oil company Ecopetrol was forced to halt work at its Barrancabermeja refinery due to the death of an employee due to coronavirus. “We made the decision to shut down the UOPII cracking unit for comprehensive disinfection,” reported Colombia media outlet Caracol, […]
Venezuela Supports OPEC+ Market Plan
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 11.Apr.2020) — Venezuela, not invited to participate in the OPEC+ discussions, continues to support the measures that intend to contribute to the stability of the world oil market amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. RELATED STORY: The 9th (Extraordinary) OPEC And Non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting […]
The Unexpected Holdout To A Global Oil Production Deal
(Bloomberg, 10.Apr.2020) — One of the most dramatic global oil production agreements in history has been left hanging on the approval of an unlikely character: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. For weeks Russia and Saudi Arabia, two energy powerhouses, have been sparring over oil, with their dispute sending crude […]
Venezuela’s Private Sector Wants Eased Import Rules
(Reuters, 10.Apr.2020) — Representatives of Venezuela’s private oil service companies have proposed the government loosen restrictions on gasoline imports and sales, as the country faces its worst motor fuel shortages in more than a decade. In a public statement this week and in discussions with officials of President Nicolas Maduro’s […]
Argentina’s Shale Boom On Hold As Oil Prices Collapse
(Oilprice.com, 10.Apr.2020) — Argentina’s state-held energy firm YPF slashed by 50 percent the oil production from its key development area in the vast Vaca Muerta shale play this week due to tumbling fuel demand in Argentina’s lockdown, local news outlet Rio Negro reports. Fuel demand in Argentina, under lockdown since […]
Pemex Not In Position To Maintain Output
(GlobalData, 10.Apr.2020) — Following today’s news (Friday 10 April) that the OPEC+ agreement, which will cut production by ten million barrels, is contingent on Mexico’s consent to also cutting production; Adrian Lara, Senior Oil & Gas Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view on the […]
Sempra To Divest Luz Del Sur In Peru For $3.59bn
(Sempra, 10.Apr.2020) — Sempra Energy received all required governmental authorizations for the sale of the company’s equity interests in its Peruvian businesses. The sale to China Yangtze Power International (Hongkong) Co., Limited (CYP) will generate approximately $3.59 billion in total cash proceeds and is subject to customary post-closing adjustments. CYP […]
Petrobras To Delay Payments From CDLs
(Petrobras, 9.Apr.2020) — Petrobras reports that it has been working to reduce the impacts of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic on the natural gas chain, since the slowdown in the Brazilian and the global economic activity has the direct effect of reducing the market consumption of natural gas. Therefore, Petrobras proposed […]
YPF Slashes Vaca Muerta Output: Rio Negro Reports
(Reuters, 9.Apr.2020) — Argentine state energy firm YPF has cut production by around half at its giant Vaca Muerta shale development Loma Campana due to a slump in demand amid the global coronavirus pandemic and a nationwide lockdown, local media reported on Thursday. Loma Campana is the most important development […]
Ecuador Oil Spill In the Amazon
(AmazonWatch, 9.Apr.2020) — Ecuador’s state-run oil company, EP PETROECUADOR, reported the pipeline bursts of the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline (SOTE), the OCP (Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados-Heavy Crude Pipeline), and the Poliducto Shishufindi-Quito in an official statement issued April 7, 2020. The ruptures occurred as a result of a reduction in pipe pressure […]
Vista Announces Data For 1Q:20 Results Release
(Vista, 9.Apr.2020) — Vista Oil & Gas, S.A.B. de C.V. will release its interim consolidated financial statements for the first quarter of 2020 on Tuesday, 28 April 2020. The company will host a webcast to present the results onWednesday, 29 April 2020, at 8:00am CST (9:00am EST; 10:00am GMT-3). The […]
Noble Releases Fleet Contract Update
(Noble, 9.Apr.2020) — Noble Corporation plc announced that its report of drilling rig status and contract information has been updated as of 9 April 2020. The report, titled “Fleet Status Report,” can be found on the company’s Website www.noblecorp.com, under the “Investor Relations” section of the Website. In addition, the […]
Galileo Sales VP Gabriel Lorenzi Interviewed By GBR
(Global Business Reports, 9.Apr.2020) — Twenty years ago it was impossible to think about an off-grid natural gas network. Today, Africa can build it with our innovative and efficient technologies, which work very well both in large producing countries and those looking at gas imports or monetizing small gas fields. […]
Collapsing Demand Sets Terms In OPEC+ Battle
(WoodMac, 9.Apr.2020) — Since OPEC+’s failure to agree on production restraint on 5-6 March, the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic have become far clearer, sparking a crisis in the oil market as prices fell and supply ramped up. The problem for these producers is the scale of the fall in […]
The 9th OPEC, Non-OPEC Meeting Concludes
(OPEC, 9.Apr.2020) — The 9th (Extraordinary) OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting was held via webinar, on Thursday, 09 April 2020, under the Chairmanship of HRH Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, and co-Chair HE Alexander Novak, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation. The Meeting welcomed […]
LatAm Offshore Activity To Slip Due To COVID-19
(IHS, 9.Apr.2020) — As the COVID-19 pandemic continues its spread across the globe, the oil and gas industry has put into practice new procedures and processes to help mitigate potential infection to its workers. In our talks with O&G players, operators and contractors alike, we are hearing about increased port […]
Brief Intro Remarks By OPEC Secretary General
(OPEC, 9.Apr.2020) — Delivered by HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, OPEC Secretary General, at the 9th (Extraordinary) OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting, 9 April 2020, via webinar. Excellencies, Over the course of the last few months, COVID-19 has pervaded almost every aspect of life. We see it in the lockdowns initiated […]
Venezuela Gasoline Shortages Worsen
(Reuters, 8.Apr.2020) — Gasoline shortages in Venezuela are worsening after U.S. officials have told foreign firms to refrain from supplying the fuel to the sanctioned South American nation and only provide diesel, according to five people familiar with the situation. Since late 2019, U.S. officials have asked most of Venezuela’s […]
Petrobras Updates On Severance Programs
(Petrobras, 8.Apr.2020) — Petrobras reports that its Board of Directors approved the creation of an Incentive Retirement Program (PAI), a new severance program aimed at employees eligible for retirement effective until 12/31/2023. The Board also approved adjustments for incentives to join the three Voluntary Severance Programs (PDVs) of the company: […]
Mexico Refuses To Cut Oil Output
(Bloomberg, 8.Apr.2020) — Outside of Saudi Arabia and Russia, most oil producers are racing to deal with the historic oil price collapse by cutting back spending and in some cases production. But Mexico’s national oil company is acting like the crash never happened. Petroleos Mexicanos aims to nearly double drilling […]
EP PetroEcuador Halts FCC Unit At Las Emeraldas
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 8.Apr.2020) — EP PetroEcuador announced an issue related to the National Interconnected System (SNI) on 7 April 2020 caused an unscheduled failure in the process units of the Las Esmeraldas refinery. As a consequence of the emergency stoppage, damage occurred to the F-C1 compressor of […]
Brazil’s State Oil Giant Petrobras Cancels Dividend
(Petrobras, 8.Apr.2020) — Petrobras informs, in addition to the press release disclosed on 7 April 2020 about cancellation of the Annual General Meeting (AGM), that all the dates related to the payment of dividends based on the 2019 annual result are being cancelled, in the amount of R$ 1.7 billion […]
PDVSA And Eni Restart Work On Diluent Pipeline
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 8.Apr.2020) — Venezuela’s state oil company PetrĂłleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) and the Italian oil company ENI, which comprise the Empresa Mixta PetrojunĂn, SA — a subsidiary of the Venezuelan Petroleum Corporation (CVP) — announced the restart of construction activities related to a diluent pipeline […]
Villavicencio Initiates VillaBici Transport Options
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 7.Apr.2020) — Under the framework of World Health Day, the Villavicencio Municipal Mobility Secretariat continues with an initiative dubbed ‘VillaBici’ which provides alternative transportation options for nurses, doctors, cleaners, administrators and caretakers of health entities during the region’s fight against the spread of the coronavirus […]
Petrobras Finds Oil At Campos Basin Natator Well
(Petrobras, 7.Apr.2020) — Petrobras informs that it has identified the presence of oil in a exploratory well of the Sudoeste de Tartaruga Verde block, located in the Campos Basin. The well, informally called Natator, is located 130 km from the city of MacaĂ© (RJ), in water depths of 1,080 meters, […]
Petrobras Approves Oil Output Of 2.1 MMb/d
(Petrobras, 7.Apr.2020) — Petrobras approved a level of oil production in Brazil for April of 2.07 million barrels per day (b/d). This new monthly production forecast already includes the reductions announced on 26 March 2020 and 1 April 2020. Thus, there will be a daily monitoring of the production projection, […]
Petrobras Cancels 2020 Shareholders’ Meeting
(Petrobras, 7.Apr.2020) — Petrobras informs that, in view of the current situation arising from the new coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and the restrictions imposed or recommended by the WHO and the authorities regarding displacement and meetings of people, the Company’s Board of Directors, in a meeting held today, approved the cancellation […]
S&P Changes Petrobras’ Rating To Stable
(Petrobras, 7.Apr.2020) — Petrobras informs that S&P Global Ratings Agency (S&P) has changed the company’s global credit rating outlook from positive to stable, and has kept the risk level (rating) of corporate debt at “BB-“. Yesterday the agency revised Brazil’s global credit rating outlook to stable due to the impact […]