(Argus, 30.Sep.2021) — A Dutch court has dealt the latest blow to Venezuela’s shrinking overseas portfolio that neither the Venezuelan government nor its political foes has succeeded in defending from creditors and arbitration claimants. In a 14 September Dutch appeals court ruling, Curacao’s state-owned RdK won the right to sell […]
Category: Venezuela
Venezuela energy
NRGBriefs: YPF’s 3Q:21 webcast, PGF’s global notes
(Energy Analytics Institute, 30.Sep.2021) — Energy briefs including Argentina’s YPF announcing details of its 3Q:21 webcast, Petrobras Global Finance B.V. (PGF) on settlement of early redemption of global notes, and refining worker detentions in Venezuela, among other updates. LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN Argentina
NRGBriefs: ANH’s Bid Round, Venezuela’s Declining GDP
(Energy Analytics Institute, 28.Sep.2021) — Energy briefs including Colombia’s ANH pushing back bid round deadlines, Colombia’s plans to reveal its hydrogen roadmap, and Trinidad and Tobago’s government commenting on a subsidy to Lake Asphalt Trinidad and Tobago Ltd. (LATT), among other updates. LATIN AMERICA Colombia — Colombia’s Minister of Mines […]
NRGBriefs: ANP Resolution, Ramirez Extradition Request
(Energy Analytics Institute, 23.Sep.2021) — Energy briefs from the LAC region including: Brazil’s ANP approving a resolution to regulate a reduction in royalties, a court in Rome rejects Nicolas Maduro’s request to extradite former PDVSA head Rafael Ramirez, and the BODs of APA Corp. declaring a regular cash dividend. LATIN […]
ConocoPhillips Steps Up Push To Collect PdV Debt
(Argus, 23.Sep.2021) — ConocoPhillips stands out in Venezuela’s vast universe of jilted creditors and claimants as a potential future commercial partner for state-owned PdV, a distinction that is driving aggressive international enforcement actions and quiet overtures for Caracas to resume payments of the company’s arbitration debt. The US independent’s $10bn […]
Rome Court Rejects Extradition Bid For Ex-Oil Czar
(AP, 20.Sep.2021) — A Rome court has rejected a request by Venezuela to extradite its former oil czar to face corruption charges, citing the country’s record in violating human rights, his Italian lawyer said Monday. Rafael Ramirez, the longtime head of Venezuela’s PDVSA state oil company, fled to Italy after […]
Caricom On The Impact Of Venezuelan Political Parties Agreement On Guyana
(Caricom.org, 14.Sep.2021) — The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has taken note of the round of negotiations in Mexico and mediated by Norway between representatives of the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the opposition, seeking to bring an end to the protracted multidimensional crisis afflicting that country. The Community […]
Private Equity Group Expects Venezuela Bet To Pay Off
(Reuters, 10.Sep.2021) — A private equity group expects a contrarian bet it made this year on Venezuela’s oil and gas sector to pay off soon, with the socialist government making reforms to attract capital to the OPEC nation after years of U.S. sanctions and sparse investment. Executives at Caracas-based Sucre […]
Venezuela Restarts Problematic Refinery To Meet Gasoline Goals
(Bloomberg, 9.Sep.2021) — Venezuela is pushing to restart a key gasoline refinery despite questions over ongoing maintenance problems as it attempts to double fuel production to fill a shortage that has caused long lines at pumps across the country. State oil firm PDVSA began partial operations in three units at […]
Sucre Energy Bets On Venezuelan Gas
(Argus, 8.Sep.2021) — Venezuela’s abundant hydrocarbons are beckoning a new generation of investors, stepping in where more established companies are pulling out. Sucre Energy, a Netherlands-based and Spanish-registered private equity company, acquired the central Venezuelan assets of Japan’s Inpex in a deal that closed in May for an undisclosed sum. […]
LatAm Briefs: Payara Progressing, Inpex Divestment In Venezuela
(Energy Analytics Institute, 2.Sep.2021) — Energy briefs from the Latin America and Caribbean region including: ExxonMobil progressing its Payara project in Guyana for start-up in 2024 and Japan’s Inpex divesting assets in Venezuela, and much more. Argentina — Argentina Lithium & Energy Corp. (TSXV: LIT) (FSE: OAY3) (OTC: PNXLF) named […]
CNPC prepares to revive Venezuela operations
(Bloomberg, 1.Sep.2021, Words: 597) — China’s top oil producer is laying the groundwork to revive output in Venezuela as President Nicolas Maduro finalizes legislation to attract more international investment. Once a major investor in the OPEC nation, China National Petroleum Corp. is sending engineers and commercial staff there and vetting local companies […]
Venezuela still attractive: Amos Global Energy’s Ali Moshiri says
HOUSTON, TEXAS (By Pietro D. Pitts, Energy Analytics Institute, 1.Sep.2021, Words: 1,400) — Venezuela, home to the world’s largest oil reserves, still has an opportunity to capitalize on producing oil amid the energy transition, Ali Moshiri, head of Amos Global Energy tells Energy Analytics Institute (EAI). “Investment is going to […]
Venezuela Sees Refinery Debt Swap As Model For Future Deals
(Reuters, 25.Aug.2021) — Venezuela’s socialist government sees the swap it made last week of shares in a Dominican oil refinery for defaulted bonds as a possible model for future deals, as it seeks to mend ties with creditors, four people familiar with the operation said. Such debt-for-equity swaps are common […]
Crude From Venezuela, Iran Stacks Up Off Singapore
(Bloomberg, 24.Aug.2021) — Oil stored in ships has been stacking up off key Asian ports as a crackdown in China on private crude oil processors has blunted purchases and disrupted flows, including some U.S.-sanctioned barrels from Iran. Vessels off Singapore, Malaysia and China had about 62 million barrels last week […]
Venezuela Swapped Oil For Food, Then Punished Dealmakers
(Reuters, 24.Aug.2021) — With U.S. sanctions spooking key oil buyers and depriving its government of cash, Venezuela last year inked a deal with a little-known local company to swap crude for food, Reuters has learned. That agreement saw state oil company PDVSA, beginning in December 2020, deliver more than 6 […]
Citgo Envisions Oil ‘Bridge’ To Venezuela
(Argus, 23.Aug.2021) — US refiner Citgo has been effectively cut off from its Venezuelan state-owned parent PdV since 2019, but it is still constrained by heavy debt while multiple creditors nip at its heels. In the first part of a two-part interview, chief executive Carlos Jordá spoke with senior contributing […]
PDVSA Cedes Stake In Refidomsa Refinery
(Reuters, 19.Aug.2021) — Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has given up its 49% stake in a Dominican refinery as part of a swap for some of its defaulted bonds, the Dominican Republic’s finance ministry and Venezuela’s oil minister said in statements on Thursday. The transaction represents a small breakthrough between […]
LatAm Briefs: YPF Debt, Petrobras Taxes
(Energy Analytics Institute, 13.Aug.2021) — Energy briefs from the Latin America and Caribbean region including: YPF reducing its total debt, Petrobras’ tax collections to the government, Exxon’s Liza Unity FPSO prepares to leave Singapore, National Enterprises Limited (NEL) writes down the fair value of its indirect stake in Atlantic LNG […]
Venezuela Negotiations By Eric Farnsworth
(AS/COA, 12.Aug.2021) — A new round of negotiations is set to start on Friday, August 13, in Mexico between representatives of the de facto regime of Nicolás Maduro and the interim administration of Juan Guaidó. This is not the first time negotiations have been attempted, and expectations for meaningful democratic progress are modest. AS/COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth breaks down […]
Venezuela’s Opposition Targets ‘Narrow’ Chance To Tame Maduro
(By Ft, Michael Stott, 10.Aug.2021) — Once Venezuela’s most famous political prisoner, he is best known for escaping from house arrest and appearing outside a Caracas military base in an attempt to start an uprising against the country’s leftist president, Nicolás Maduro. But the 2019 rebellion failed and Leopoldo López […]
LatAmBriefs: TGI Eyes Buenaventura LNG Import Project
(Energy Analytics Institute, 9.Aug.2021) — Energy briefs from the Latin America and Caribbean region including: Argentina fining Edesur and Edenor; Transportadora de Gas Internacional (TGI) eyes developing Colombia’s second liquefied natural gas (LNG) import project in Buenaventura; and more from Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela. Argentina — Argentina’s National Electricity Regulatory […]
María Corina Machado Talks About Democratic Regression
(Fundación Libertad y Desarrollo, 9.Aug.2021) — The president of Fundación Libertad y Desarrollo, Dionisio Gutiérrez, spoke with the leader of the Venezuelan opposition and National Coordinator of Vente Venezuela, María Corina Machado, about the fight for democratic, liberal and republican values in the region. On the decline of liberal democracies […]
Alarm Over Spill Into The Gulf Of Paria
(Trinidad Express, 9.Aug.2021) — The Environmental Management Authority and Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd yesterday confirmed an oil spill in the Gulf of Paria. Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) corporate secretary Gary Aboud boarded a pirogue yesterday and went to the scene of the spill. He posted several […]
When Exception Becomes the Norm – Crisis as an Ordinary Experience in Venezuela
(Noria Research, 31.Jul.2021) — For several years now, Venezuela has been plagued by an unprecedented combination of political, institutional, economic, social, health, and security crises. After losing control of the Parliament in 2015, President Nicolás Maduro’s government declared a state of emergency that has not been lifted since. Dissent and […]
France’s TotalEnergies exits Petrocedeño JV in Venezuela, concedes $1.38bn capital loss
CARACAS, VENEZUELA (Piero Stewart, Energy Analytics Institute, 29.Jul.2021, Words: 161) — TotalEnergies, through its affiliate Total Venezuela, has decided to transfer its non-operated minority participation of 30.32% in Petrocedeño S.A. to Corporation Venezonala de Petróleos (CVP), an affiliate of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). Equinor having also decided to transfer in […]
Equinor Sales Faja Stake To CVP
(Equinor, 29.Jul.2021) — Equinor and state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) have completed a transaction whereby Equinor will transfer its 9.67% non-operated interest in the Petrocedeño project onshore Venezuela to Corporación Venezolana del Petróleo (CVP), a PDVSA company. The Petrocedeño project aims to upgrade extra-heavy crude oil into lighter crude from […]
LatAm Briefs: Train 1 Mothballing, CVP Appointments
(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 […]
Sanctioned Citgo At Disadvantage To Rivals
(Reuters, 23.Jul.2021) — Sanctions barring U.S. imports of Venezuelan crude put refiner Citgo Petroleum Corp at a disadvantage to better-financed rivals, the board chair named by Venezuela’s political opposition for state oil company PDVSA said on Friday. Many refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast – including Citgo’s facilities in Texas […]
Venezuelans Enduring Day-Long Waits to Fill Gasoline Tanks
(Bloomberg, 23.Jul.2021) — Venezuela’s capital city is once again rationing gasoline after output at state-owned refineries slumped, forcing motorists to endure day-long queues to top off tanks. Shortages have returned to Caracas, prompting drivers to prowl the streets for open filling stations as lines stretch for blocks in some areas. […]
Venezuela Snubs Sanctions With Oil Import
(Bloomberg, 22.Jul.2021) — Venezuela’s state-owned oil company imported a key component needed to achieve its goal of almost tripling crude production, defying U.S. efforts to isolate the Maduro regime’s grip on power. The supertanker Rene is discharging a hydrocarbon known as condensate at the Venezuelan port of Jose, according to a document […]
China’s CCPC Takes Center Stage In Iran
(Reuters, 22.Jul.2021) — A Chinese logistics firm has emerged as a central player in the supply of sanctioned oil from Iran and Venezuela, even after it was blacklisted by Washington two years ago for handling Iranian crude, seven sources with knowledge of the deals told Reuters. The more prominent role […]
US Extends Protection For Citgo
(Reuters, 20.Jul.2021) — The United States on Tuesday extended a measure protecting Venezuelan-owned U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum Corp PDVSAC.UL from bondholders seeking a stake in the company to collect on unpaid debts from state-owned oil company PDVSA, Citgo’s owner. Holders of PDVSA’s 2020 bond, which is backed by a majority […]
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US Extends Citgo Protection [PDF Download]
(Department of the Treasury, 20.Jul.2021) — The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued the following update to General License No. 5G related to PDVSA and Citgo Petroleum. Venezuela Sanctions Regulations 31 CFR Part 591 GENERAL LICENSE NO. 5G Authorizing Certain Transactions Related to the Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. 2020 […]
Cyprus Emerges As sanctions Workaround For Venezuela
(Lloyd’s List, 14.Jul.2021) — Until last year, Greek shipowners accounted for 80% of crude lifted from Venezuela, undeterred by US sanctions. Then, six vessel-owning companies connected with four prominent owners were briefly blacklisted for breaching US sanctions, forcing all Greek-owned vessels involved in these trades to rethink and recalibrate business […]
Italian Court Accepts Extradition Request For Former Minister Ramirez
(Reuters, 14.Jul.2021) — An Italian court on Wednesday approved an extradition request for Venezuela’s former Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez, who is charged with corruption, Venezuelan state television said. Authorities in the South American country had sought an Interpol red notice – a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and […]
Washington Allows LPG Exports To Venezuela
(S&P Global Platts, 12.Jul.2021) — The US Department of Treasury granted a sanctions waiver July 12 allowing US companies to export or re-export LPG supplies to Venezuela, the first move by the Biden administration to ease sanctions on the economically hard-hit country. A propane shortage in Venezuela has forced many […]
US OKs LPG Exports To Venezuela
(Energy Analytics Institute, 12.Jul.2021) — The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued general license no. 40 which allows “all transactions and activities related to the exportation or reexportation, directly or indirectly, of liquefied petroleum gas to Venezuela, involving the government of Venezuela, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), or […]
Ecopetrol Reports Uptick In Oil Output
(Ecopetrol, 12.Jul.2021) — Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: Ecopetrol; NYSE EC) informs about the recovery of its operations in the upstream, midstream, downstream and sales and marketing segments in Colombia, in connection with the adverse impacts the company had observed as a consequence of the restrictions on mobility caused by the public […]
Venezuela Resorts To Upgraded Oil For Refineries
(Reuters, 8.Jul.2021) — Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA has started producing two upgraded crude grades for domestic refining, aiming at reanimating the country’s much-needed output of motor fuels, according to a company document and sources close the decision. Years of under-investment in PDVSA’s 1.3 million-barrel-per-day capacity refining network and U.S. […]
LatAm Briefs: Rio Negro Drilling, Ecuador Production
(Energy Analytics Institute, 5.Jul.2021) — Energy briefs from the Latin America and Caribbean region including: plans to reactivate 77 wells in Argentina’s Río Negro region, EP PetroEcuador and Repsol Ecuador S.A. inking a deal for the use of a topping plant in Ecuador, Ecuador’s production reached 491,497 b/d on 1 […]
Brazil’s Lower-Sulphur Fuel Booms In Asia
(Reuters, 1.Jul.2021) — Brazil is growing its marine fuel oil exports to Asia’s lucrative premium hubs, where rules mandating lower sulphur content have been squeezing out most of its Latin American peers, according to sources and data. Fuel oil exports are the second largest source of energy revenue for most […]
Venezuelan Oil Sector Still Confronts Headwinds
(Energy Analytics Institute, 29.Jun.2021) — Venezuela continues to confront headwinds from legal uncertainties to transparency issues to a new tariff on its bitumen exports to China that make it hard for the country to boost production, former Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) Director José Toro Hardy said on 29 June 2021 […]
Venezuela’s Oil Sector Needs Private Investors
(Energy Analytics Institute, 29.Jun.2021) — The private sector must be reintegrated to increase production in Venezuela as it’s the only viable way the country could meet the optimistic production goals of 1.5 million barrels per day by year end as previously announced by President Nicolás Maduro. That’s why the participation […]
LatAm Briefs: Chile’s Green Plans, Venezuelan Oil Output
(Energy Analytics Institute, 29.Jun.2021) — Energy briefs from the Latin America and Caribbean region including: Chile and Germany inking a green hydrogen deal, EP PetroEcuador reaching an agreement with the community of El Edén to lift a 45-day blockage, Venezuela’s oil production averaging around 570,000 barrels per day, and more. […]
PDVSA Restarts Drilling Campaign Suspended Since 2019
(S&P Global, 29.Jun.2021) — In the second half of the year, Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA will restart the drilling of oil wells while intensifying work to open 3,700 shuttered wells and to recover compression and gas injection capacity needed to increase crude output, according to an internal “Operational Follow-up Plan” report […]
US-EU-Canada Issue Joint Statement On Venezuela
(US State Department, 25.Jun.2021) — The following statement was released by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, and Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marc Garneau. Begin text: We remain deeply concerned about the ongoing crisis in Venezuela and […]
Looming Venezuela Talks Whet Investor Appetite
(Argus, 24.Jun.2021) — Venezuela is returning to the geopolitical stage after months out of the limelight. President Nicolas Maduro’s government and his political opponents are preparing to restart negotiations to establish credible conditions for state and local elections on 21 November, cooperation to address the Covid-19 pandemic and broader power-sharing […]
Uncertainties In Venezuela Around Arrival Of More Iranian Gasoline
(Energy Analytics Institute, 22.Jun.2021) — Venezuelan economist José Toro Hardy said it was unclear when additional Iranian tankers carrying gasoline would reach the South American country’s coasts. Venezuela could encounter another diesel shortage in coming months; hence, reason Hardy said it was urgent to try to prepare for the shortage […]
Venezuela Oil Czar Says Output To Skyrocket, Sanctions Be Damned
(Bloomberg, 21.Jun.2021) — In Venezuela, waiting in line at a gas station — sometimes for days — has become so routine that it’s hard to imagine life without it. But go see Tareck El Aissami, the oil minister, and you’ll find out something magical is about to happen. In weeks, […]