(Forbes, Dylan Baddour, 10.Dec.2019) — As protesters continue to push demands in Colombia, the government here has asked its oil company, Ecopetrol S.A., for a billion-dollar dividend to cover its commitments. The combination of planned tax cuts for corporations, plus new tax cuts and for low income earners offered to […]
Category: Latin America and the Caribbean
Pemex Reserve Discovery Boosts Mexico’s Oil Ambitions
(S&P Global Platts, 10.Dec.2019) — Pemex’s largest hydrocarbon reserve discovery in 30 years is boosting the Mexican government’s confidence that the troubled state-run enterprise can reverse a more than decade-long decline in crude oil production. An analysis of initial production results and seismic data from the onshore Quesqui field led […]
Barkindo Says US Sanctions On Venezuela Unhealthy
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 10.Dec.2019) — OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo assured that unilateral sanctions imposed on member countries of the organization are unhealthy for the efficient functioning of the oil market. “The oil that Venezuela produces and exports belongs to the entire world. As a large oil producing […]
Argentina’s Shale Boom Hits New Milestone
(Oilprice.com, Irina Slav, 10.Dec.2019) — YPF, the Argentine state energy company, has drilled the longest horizontal oil well lateral, at 3,890 meters, or more than 12,700 feet, in the Vaca Muerta shale play, S&P Global Platts reports, citing a source close to the company. The record-breaking lateral—the horizontal part of […]
Venezuela Oil Output Rises
(Reuters, 10.Dec.2019) — Venezuela’s crude output in November jumped more than 20% from the prior month to the highest level since the United States tightened sanctions on state oil company PDVSA in August, two people with knowledge of PDVSA data said this week. November output averaged between 926,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) […]
Venezuela Releases ‘Citgo 6’
(Chron.com, Sergio Chapa, 9.Dec.2019) — Six executives of Houston refiner Citgo are out of a Venezuelan prison, according to a late Monday report by Reuters. After spending two years in prison on corruption charges, Jose Luis Zambrano, Alirio Zambrano, Jorge Toledo, Tomeu Vadell, Gustavo Cardenas and Jose Pereira are said […]
Petrobras Sales Fields In Rio Grande Do Norte
(Petrobras, 9.Dec.2019) — Petrobras, following up on the release disclosed on 04/25/2019, reports that it has completed today the sale of its entire stake in 34 onshore production fields located in the Potiguar Basin, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, to Potiguar E&P S.A., a subsidiary of Petrorecôncavo […]
Petrobras To Lease LNG Regasification Terminal
(Petrobras, 9.Dec.2019) — Petrobras, in accordance with the commitments made through the Agreement, signed with the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), on July 8, 2019, informs that it is starting the process of leasing the LNG Regasification Terminal of Bahia (TR-BA), at Salvador/BA, and its integrated pipeline. Thus, the […]
Petrobras To Lease Out LNG Terminal
(Argus, 9.Dec.2019) — Brazilian state-controlled Petrobras has started pre-qualifying bidders for a long-term lease of its 20mn m³/d Bahia LNG import terminal and associated pipeline, opening the company’s lock on Brazil’s LNG imports. Petrobras said the planned terminal lease aligns with its July 2019 agreement with anti-trust regulator Cade to […]
Refineria di Korsou On Talks With PDVSA
(Kòrsou, 9.Dec.2019) — Refineria di Kòrsou (RdK) continues to take steps to shape the transition period that has been agreed during a meeting last week between the RdK and PDVSA last week in Caracas. It needs to be emphasized that the transition period will cover the time laps between after […]
Bolivia Plans To Reduce Electric Rates
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 9.Dec.2019) — Bolivia plans to reduce electricity rates, retroactively from November 2019, in eight of the South American country’s nine departments. Users in the departments of Chuquisaca and Santa Cruz will be the first beneficiaries with discounts that will reach up to 50%, while users […]
NY Reserve Bank To Hold Guyana Oil Revenues
(Stabroek News, 7.Dec.2019) — Guyana’s Natural Resource Fund (NRF), which will hold oil revenues, is to be located in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York rather than the Central Bank of Guyana, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan has revealed. “We are in the process of getting the requirement to […]
Sunday Blackout Warning
(Trinidad Express, 7.Dec.2019) — The Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) has appealed to customers in Trinidad to conserve electricity this weekend, while the National Gas Company (NGC) carries out expansion work on its network. In a public notice yesterday, the commission said NGC’s work is scheduled for tomorrow (December […]
Venezuela Gov’t, Opposition Weigh Giving Firms Operating Rights
(Reuters, Luc Cohen, Deisy Buitrago, Mayela Armas, 6.Dec.2019) — Venezuela’s government and opposition have discussed allowing private companies in joint ventures with state oil company PDVSA to operate oil fields themselves, reversing a longstanding requirement that PDVSA control such operations, three people familiar with the talks said. While a similar […]
ExxonMobil Plans 31-Well Program In Guyana
(Zacks Equity Research, 6.Dec.2019) — Exxon Mobil Corporation is planning to commence a 31-well exploration campaign offshore Guyana, per Argus. The company has submitted requests to the Environmental Protection Agency of Guyana for this drilling program, which will be executed in the Stabroek, Kaieteur and Canje blocks. Drilling from these […]
CITGO Reports 3Q Results
(Citgo, 6.Dec.2019) — Citgo Petroleum Corporation reported strong financial and operational performance as the Board of Directors reviewed with the Shareholder the company’s performance during the first nine months of 2019 at a meeting at Citgo headquarters in Houston. The report included net income of $270 million for the first […]
Chile LNG Imports Slump As Argentina Pumps More Gas
(Argus, 6.Dec.2019) — Chilean imports of liquefied natural gas have fallen to their lowest level in at least three years as the South American country imports more gas from neighboring Argentina. Chile imported just 132,850 mt of LNG in October, according to the latest government data, down 24.9% from September […]
Pemex Finds Giant Oil Field In Quesqui
(Pemex, 6.Dec.2019) — The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, accompanied by the General Director of Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Octavio Romero Oropeza, toured the Quesqui oil field, which according to seismic data confirms the existence of a giant oil reservoir of at least 500 million barrels, the equivalent of […]
Parex, Ecopetrol Winners In Colombia Round
(Reuters, Oliver Griffin, 5.Dec.2019) — Companies including Canada’s Parex Resources and Ecopetrol SA won contracts to operate oil blocks in Colombia’s auction round on Thursday, as the Andean nation seeks to reinvigorate its petroleum sector. Ecopetrol and its subsidiary Hocol SA, Frontera Energy Corp and Amerisur Resources Plc were all […]
Petrobras Plans $34bn In Dividends
(Bloomberg, Simon Casey and Sabrina Valle, 5.Dec.2019) — Petrobras plans to pay its shareholders $34 billion in dividends over the next five years as it cuts debt and sells assets to shore up its finances, CEO Roberto Castello Branco said. The plan is a major shift for the state-controlled oil […]
Frontera Announces 2020 Capital Plan
(Frontera, 5.Dec.2019) — Frontera Energy Corporation announced full year 2020 capital plan and guidance information. All values in this news release and the Company’s financial disclosures are in United States dollars, unless otherwise noted. Gabriel de Alba, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said: “Frontera’s 2020 plan demonstrates the Company’s […]
Guyana On Brink Of Unimaginable Oil Wealth
(IB Times, Palash Ghosh, 4.Dec.2019) — Ahead of this week’s meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna, the tiny South American nation of Guyana will likely not be on the agenda. However, within a decade this country of just 778,000 people may be as wealthy as […]
Petrobras May Divest Stakes In Marlim, Papa-Terra
(Reuters, 4.Dec.2019) — Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras is considering putting additional stakes in significant offshore oilfields up for sale, executives said on Wednesday, as the company continues to aggressively de-leverage. In a presentation, the executives said they may sell stakes in the Marlim field, as well as the firm’s […]
Petrobras Host Investor Day In NYC
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 4.Dec.2019) — Brazil’s state-controlled oil giant Petrobras hosted media and analyst during its annual investor day event in New York City on Dec. 4, which was followed by another in London on Dec. 6. What follows is the link to the 51-page presentation: Petrobras Investor […]
LatAm, US Ban Travel For Venezuela’s Maduro, Allies
(Reuters, Luis Jaime Acosta, 3.Dec.2019) — Fifteen countries in the Americas agreed on Tuesday to ban 29 Venezuelans, including the oil-producing country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, and his close allies, from traveling within their borders as part of diplomatic efforts to push him to step down. The meeting included representatives from […]
Venezuela And Cuba ‘Circumvent Sanctions’
(Miami Herald, Jim Wyss and Nora Gamez Torres, 3.Dec.2019) — Washington continued to tighten its grip on Venezuela and Cuba on Tuesday, naming six oil tankers that deliver fuel from the South American nation to the island as “blocked property.” The action — just the latest in a series of […]
Petrobras Discloses Binding Phase For E&P Assets
(Petrobras, 3.Dec.2019) — Petrobras, following up on the release dated on 09/30/2019 and 10/15/2019, reports on the beginning of the binding phase regarding the sale of its interests in eight onshore exploratory blocks located in the Recôncavo Basin. Qualified parties for this phase will receive process letters with instructions on […]
Petrobras Starts Espírito Santo Basin Teaser
(Petrobras, 3.Dec.2019) — Petrobras started the opportunity disclosure stage, referring to the sale of its interest in two onshore exploratory blocks, located in the Espírito Santo Basin. Petrobras holds a 50% stake in each of the blocks, in partnership with Cowan Petróleo e Gás, which is the operator and holds […]
Fitch Confirms Ecopetrol Investment Rating
(Ecopetrol, 3.Dec.2019) — Ecopetrol S.A. announced that the risk-rating agency Fitch Ratings has maintained the company’s credit rating at BBB with negative outlook, and its stand-alone rating (without incorporating government support) at bbb. In the press release, Fitch noted the strength of Ecopetrol’s financial profile, due to the continuous improvement […]
Vista, YPF Win Vaca Muerta Licenses
(S&P Global Platts, 3.Dec.2019) — Argentina’s Neuquen province awarded development licenses to Vista Oil & Gas and YPF in Vaca Muerta, a giant shale play that has seen investment and production growth slow this year on economic and political uncertainty. Mexico City-based Vista won a license to develop Aguila Mora […]
US Acts Against Movement Of Venezuelan Oil To Cuba
(US Department of State, 3.Dec.2019) — On December 3, the United States identified six PDVSA-owned vessels, pursuant to E.O. 13884 or 13850, being used by the former Maduro regime to ship oil to Cuba, announced US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo. Related Story: OFAC Adds Six Vessels To List […]
OFAC Adds Six Vessels To List
(Piero Stewart, Energy Analytics Institute, 3.Dec.2019) — The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) add six vessels to its SDN list as of 3 Dec. and as follows. — ICARO Crude Oil Tanker Panama flag; Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9038842 (vessel) [Venezuela-EO13884] (Linked To: PDVSA). […]
Pemex Supports Hidalgo Municipalities
(Pemex, 3.Dec.2019) — As part of the Community and Environment Support Program (PACMA), the General Director of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Octavio Romero Oropeza, presented to the Hidalgo State Governor Omar Fayad Meneses these vehicles worth 9.3 million pesos to be used in 12 municipalities in order to strengthen actions in […]
Bolivia Revises Gas Reserves, Fixes GCC Line
(Argus, Patricia Garip, 3.Dec.2019) — Bolivia’s new interim government has revised down the figure for natural gas reserves, applying a more conservative interpretation of the certified data. Proven reserves are 8.95 Tcf (254bn m³) as of the end of 2017, rather than 10.7 Tcf as the previous government had asserted, […]
Apache Targets 3rd Play At Suriname Well
(Apache, 2.Dec.2019) — Apache Corporation updated the status of its first exploratory well in Block 58 offshore Suriname. Drilling operations on the Maka Central – 1 well commenced in late September with an expected drill time of 30 to 60 days. Upon reaching a depth of approximately 6,200 meters, the […]
Invenergy Expands Via Deal With Colombia’s EPM
(Invenergy, 2. Dec.2019) — Invenergy executed a strategic partnership agreement with Empresas Publicas de Medellin (EPM), one of Colombia’s largest public electric utilities, to develop, build, and operate large-scale wind and solar energy projects in Colombia. This partnership combines Invenergy’s renewable development and operational expertise with EPM’s domestic know-how to […]
Petrobras Discloses Teaser In Sergipe-Alagoas Basin
(Petrobras, 2.Dec.2019) — Petrobras started the opportunity disclosure stage, referring to the sale of its interest in the onshore fields of Dó-Ré-Mi and Rabo Branco, belonging to the BT-SEAL-13 Concession, located in the SergipeAlagoas Basin. The teaser, which contains key information about the opportunity, as well as the eligibility criteria […]
PdV Gets Curacao Reprieve
(Argus, Patricia Garip, 2.Dec.2019) — Venezuela’s state-owned PdV struck a preliminary agreement with Curacao to hang on to the Isla refinery and Bullen Bay terminal for a transition period of up to one year after its lease expires at the end of December. The preliminary lease extension is another notch […]
UN Secretary Chief Guterres: “Point Of No-Return Hurtling Towards Us”
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 1.Dec.2019) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres addressed the media in a press briefing one day ahead of the COP25 2019 to be held in Madrid, Spain. “We are confronted by an escalating global climate crisis,” Guterres said. “The point of no-return is no longer over […]
As Troubles Grow, Mexicans Keep the Faith With AMLO
(NYT, Elisabeth Malkin, 1.Dec.2019) — One year into his term, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador faces a stagnant economy and spiraling violence, but Mexicans still place their hopes in him. Every day before dawn, a knot of unemployed men gather at the gate of a construction site, hoping to land […]
EP PetroEcuador, Freepoint Ink Fuel Oil Deal
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 29.Nov.2019) — EP Petroecuador awarded the export of 380,000 barrels of Fuel Oil No. 4 to Freepoint Commodities LLC. Freepoint won the contract by presenting a negative $1.88 per barrel differential, EP PetroEcuador announced Nov. 29 in an official statement, adding the international benchmark for […]
Fuel Retailers To Invest $750mn In Mexico In 2020
(Argus, Sergio Meana, 29.Nov.2019) — Fuel retailers could invest Ps15bn ($750mn) in Mexico next year mostly in 175 greenfield stations — if they can overcome regulatory hurdles — as well as technology to keep up with new rules, industry association Onexpo estimates. Permitting backlogs and political uncertainty already stalled development […]
Cuba Working To Boost Renewable Energy
(Xinhua, 29.Nov.2019) — Cuba hopes to generate a quarter of its energy needs from renewable sources over the next decade, an industry official said on Thursday. The government’s Renewable Energy Development Program aims to raise clean energy output from today’s 4 percent to 24 percent by 2030, said Tatiana Amaran, […]
Profile: Tullow In Guyana
(Tullow, 29.Nov.2019) — Guyana has become an industry hotspot following giant oil discoveries in the Starbroek block. Tullow has interests in two neighbouring licences offshore Guyana with a 60% operated interest in the Orinduik block and a 37.5% non-operated interest in the Kanuku block. Tullow’s position in Guyana dates back […]
Latin America Oil & Gas Summit: Uruguay
(IN-VR, 29.Nov.2019 ) — IN-VR invites international oil & gas companies to the Latin America Oil & Gas Summit in 5-6 December 2019, at Uruguay, Punta Del Este Resort & Spa. For the first time, NOCs and hydrocarbons agencies will be sharing onshore and offshore updates for the region’s huge […]
EP PetroEcuador, Glencore Ink Cutter Stock Deal
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 28.Nov.2019) — Ecuador’s state oil and gas company EP Petroecuador awarded Glencore Ltd. a contract to import 1,050,000 barrels of Cutter Stock. Glencore won the contract by presenting a positive $1.77 per barrel differential, EP PetroEcuador announced Nov. 28 in an official statement. In accordance […]
Petrobras Shares Slip On Production Target
(Reuters, Roberto Samora , 28.Nov.2019 ) — Shares of Brazilian oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA slipped on Thursday after its oil and gas production outlook for next year disappointed analysts, despite ambitious long-term output forecasts in its new five-year strategic plan. Petrobras, as the state-run company is known, aims to […]
Petrobras Inks Deal To Divest Frade Field
(Petrobras, 28.Nov.2019) — Petrobras signed with PetroRio Jaguar Petróleo Ltda., subsidiary of Petro Rio S.A., a contract on 28 Nov. for the sale of 30% stake in the Frade concession, located in the Campos Basin, north coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro for $100 million. Currently, PetroRio holds […]
Oil Brightens Guyana’s Prospects
(CaribNews, Mellany P., 28.Nov.2019) — President David Granger said Wednesday that the emerging petroleum industry provides an “exciting economic and enterprising development” for Guyana and will enhance economic growth by increasing investment, including upstream investment. Addressing the Guyana International Petroleum Exhibition (GIPEX) 2019, Granger insisted that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) […]
Bolivia Seeks To Lower Regional Electric Tariffs
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 28.Nov.2019) — Bolivia’s Energy Ministry ordered the Nuclear Electricity and Technology Authority (AETN) to reduce electrical rates in the domestic market in “some departments” where payments for services are high. The ministry referred to departments such as Beni and announced that steps to export energy […]