(Reuters, 26.Jan.2021) — Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA’s inventories of its main export crude grade dipped this week to their lowest levels since late November, internal company documents seen by Reuters showed. Merey 16 stocks at the country’s main oil terminal, the Jose port, fell to 4.85 million barrels as […]
Category: Venezuela
Venezuela energy
PDVSA Says It Controls Gas Leak Along Anaco Pipeline
(Energy Analytics Institute, 23.Jan.2021) — Workers with PDVSA Gas, a subsidiary of PetrĂłleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) controlled a gas leak in the Barbacoas sector of the city of Barcelona located in Anzoátegui state. The attack occurred along a section of a 26-inch diameter gas pipeline owned by PDVSA, which runs […]
China Buys Venezuelan Oil Doctored To Skirt Sanctions
(Bloomberg, 22.Jan.2021) — It may be the oil market’s worst-kept secret: Millions of barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude, embargoed by the U.S., have been surreptitiously going to China. The cat-and-mouse games that avoid detection and sanctions include ship-to-ship transfers, shell companies and silenced satellite signals. But there’s another aspect to […]
US May Restore Venezuela Diesel Swaps, Ease Waiver
(Argus, 20.Jan.2021) — The new US administration is considering whether to reinstate Venezuelan crude-for-diesel swaps and ease a key sanctions waiver, but policy reversals alone would not be enough to meaningfully revive the Opec country’s oil production after years of neglect. At his senate confirmation hearing yesterday, secretary of state […]
OFAC Targets Individuals And Entities Helping Maduro
(Energy Analytics Institute, 19.Jan.2021) — US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control, or OFAC, slapped sanctions on three individuals, 16 companies and seven vessels for their alleged ties to networks trying to evade US sanctions imposed on Venezuela’s oil sector. The individuals targeted included Philipp Apikian, Alessandro Bazzoni, Francisco […]
Treasury Targets Venezuelan Sanctions Evasion Network
(US Treasury, 19.Jan.2021) — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated three individuals, fourteen entities, and six vessels for their ties to a network attempting to evade United States sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector. The illegitimate Maduro regime has continued to use Petroleos […]
Venezuela Orders Arrest Of New Citgo Board Member
(Reuters, 18.Jan.2021) — Venezuelan authorities issued an arrest warrant for a new member of the board of directors of U.S.-based refining firm Citgo Petroleum Corp named by the opposition this month, chief prosecutor Tarek Saab said on Monday. Saab said Jose RamĂłn Pocaterra was “illegally designated” to the board of […]
Entities Look To Press Biden On Venezuela Fuel Swaps
(Reuters, 18.Jan.2021) — Representatives of fuel suppliers to Venezuela, importers of Venezuelan oil and advocacy groups said this month they plan to press the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to reverse a ban on crude-for-diesel swaps. The Trump administration since the last quarter of 2020 has barred companies […]
Venezuela’s Maduro accuses US president Donald Trump of backing attacks on CRP
CARACAS, VENEZUELA (Piero Stewart, Energy Analytics Institute, 15.Jan.2021, Words: 169) — Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro reiterated earlier claims that US President Donald Trump ordered the sabotage of the OPEC country’s Amuay and CardĂłn refineries in Punto Fijo. “Dozens of Venezuelan and Colombian mercenaries have been captured planning conspiracies against our […]
Venezuela Eyes Private Cos Operating Oil Fields
(Reuters, 14.Jan.2021) — Venezuelan officials have met in recent months with small domestic oilfield contractors to propose letting them operate fields owned by state-owned PDVSA while pocketing part of the proceeds, according to six people with knowledge of the talks. The talks show President Nicolas Maduro, facing a collapse in […]
Venezuela Creates Special Crisis Commission
(Xinhua, 14.Jan.2021) — Venezuela’s National Assembly on Thursday established a Special Commission for Dialogue, Peace and National Reconciliation, made up of ruling coalition and opposition legislators, to resolve the economic crisis generated by U.S.-led sanctions. “We made an effort so that all political forces… in the national parliament joined this […]
Maduro Says Venezuela Eyes Output Of 1.5 MMB/D
(Energy Analytics Institute, 12.Jan.2021) — Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, during his annual speech to the nation on 12 January 2021, announced the OPEC country was eyeing oil production of 1.5 million barrels per day thanks in part to the Anti-Blockage Law. No further details were revealed by the leader, but […]
OPEC Voluntary Production Levels (PDF DOWNLOAD)
(Energy Analytics Institute, 11.Jan.2021) — OPEC’s voluntary crude oil production levels for the months of January, February, and March. __________ By Ian Silverman. © Energy Analytics Institute (EAI). All Rights Reserved.
Iranian Oil Tankers Entering Venezuelan, Syrian Ports
(MEHR, 10.Jan.2021) — Tankertrackers reported that the Iranian oil and gasoline tankers have reached near Syria and Venezuela. According to Tankertrackers, an Iranian tanker carrying two million barrels of crude oil shipments is crossing the Suez Canal and it will probably arrive in the Syrian port of Banias on Monday. […]
EU’s Declaration On Backing Venezuela’s Juan Guaido
(EU Council, 6.Jan.2021) — The Venezuelan elections of 6 December 2020 for the National Assembly regrettably went ahead without a national agreement on electoral conditions. The European Union considers that the elections failed to comply with the international standards for a credible process and to mobilise the Venezuelan people to […]
EU, Lima Group Sour On Juan Guaido
(Argus, 6.Jan.2021) — The EU and the Lima Group of Latin American countries and Canada have implicitly dropped support for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president, portending a policy shift in Washington as well. The EU now views Guaido and the opposition-led “outgoing” National Assembly as just […]
Venezuela’s New National Assembly Steps In
(Energy Analytics Institute, 5.Jan.2021) — Venezuela’s new National Assembly, elected in parliamentary elections on 6 December 2020, assumed power today in Caracas. Jorge Rodriguez will take over as the leader of the assembly, after unseating former assembly leader Juan Guaido, whose party boycotted the 6 December vote as they perceived […]
ElĂas Matta To Continue Heading Energy Commission
(Energy Analytics Institute, 5.Jan.2020) — ElĂas Matta will retain his post as the president of the energy and petroleum commission of the National Assembly, sources in Caracas tell Energy Analytics Institute. __________ By Piero Stewart. © Energy Analytics Institute (EAI). All Rights Reserved.
Venezuela’s Oil Exports Sink To 1940’s Level
(Reuters, 4.Jan.2021) — Pressured by strict U.S. sanctions, Venezuela’s oil exports plunged by 376,500 barrels per day (bpd) in 2020, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and internal documents from state-run PDVSA, financially squeezing socialist President Nicolas Maduro. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump also put curbs on PDVSA’s main […]
20 Companies: The Biggest Polluters In The World
(Insider Monkey, 2.Jan.2021) — In this article we are going to list the 20 companies that are the biggest polluters in the world. Click to skip ahead and jump to the 10 companies that are the biggest polluters in the world. Look, I don’t think there are many educated people […]
Venezuela Briefs: Halliburton Layoffs
(Energy Analytics Institute, 31.Dec.2020) — Briefs from Venezuela related to Halliburton layoffs and the year end message from PetrĂłleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) President AsdrĂşbal Chávez. Halliburton Lays Off Workers Halliburton Venezuela has been forced to lay off an unknown number of employees related to business restrictions owing to a license […]
Carlos Vecchio Says GuaidĂł Govt Saved Citgo
(Energy Analytics Institute, 29.Dec.2020) — Houston-based refiner Citgo Petroleum, owned by Venezuela’s state oil and gas company PetrĂłleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), continues to benefit from US legal actions to extend protection from creditors until July 2021, says Carlos Vecchio, the Venezuela’s ambassador to the US under the government of opposition […]
UAE Emerges As Hub For Cos. Helping Venezuela
(Reuters, 29.Dec.2020) — In June, the United States imposed sanctions on half a dozen oil tankers managed by established shipping firms. It was a major escalation of American attempts to choke off Venezuela’s oil trade. Within weeks, a little-known company based in the United Arab Emirates took over management of […]
Venezuela’s Oil Unions Accuse Govt Of Persecution
(AFP, 23.Dec.2020) — Venezuela’s vital oil industry is failing and the socialist government is feeling the pressure, and now the regime of President Nicolas Maduro is being accused of lashing out at the sector’s unions. In recent months, several union leaders have been arrested, accused of terrorism, sharing confidential information […]
Venezuela Resumes Direct Oil Shipments To China
(Reuters, 22.Dec.2020) — Venezuela has resumed direct shipments of oil to China after U.S. sanctions sent the trade underground for more than a year, according to Refinitiv Eikon vessel-tracking data and internal documents from state company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). Chinese state companies China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and its […]
ExxonMobil Hits Guyana Oil Output Goal
(Argus, 21.Dec.2020) — ExxonMobil reached targeted crude production of 120,000 b/d at the Liza 1 well on Guyana’s deepwater Stabroek block, a milestone that had been delayed by an earlier re-injection glitch and equipment delays. The target was achieved a year after start-up of the Liza Destiny floating production, storage […]
World Court To Intervene In Guyana-Venezuela Dispute
(AP, 18.Dec.2020) — The United Nations’ highest court ruled Friday that it will intervene to settle a decades-old border dispute between South American neighbors Guyana and Venezuela. The decision by the International Court of Justice means it will now move to judge the merits of the case, which will likely […]
Biden To Seek Talks With Maduro Regime
(Bloomberg, 18.Dec.2020) — President-elect Joe Biden’s advisers are preparing to negotiate with Nicolas Maduro’s regime in Venezuela in an effort to end the Western Hemisphere’s worst economic and humanitarian crisis, according to three people familiar with the matter. The Biden administration intends to push for free and fair elections, offering […]
Spills In Venezuela Offer A Bleak Vision Of An Oil End
(Bloomberg, 15.Dec.2020) — Tropical rains have washed away most outward traces of the oil spill that ravaged Rio Seco this fall. But the fishing village in the shadow of Venezuela’s main refining hub bears the scars of deeper contamination. Boats with oil-stained hulls must now travel further out into the Caribbean to […]
Iran Uses Disguised Tanker To Export Venezuelan Oil
(Reuters, 14.Dec.2020) — A tanker chartered by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is loading Venezuelan crude for export, documents from state-run PDVSA show, providing evidence of the two countries’ latest tactics to expand their trade in defiance of U.S. sanctions. Venezuela and Iran have deepened their cooperation this year […]
Venezuela Disrupts Plan To Attack Refinery
(Reuters, 11.Dec.2020) — Venezuela’s Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami said on Friday that authorities had disrupted a plan to attack Venezuela’s 146,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) El Palito refinery, and had arrested two suspects in the plot. El Aissami alleged, without providing evidence, that the planned attack had the support of the Colombian […]
PdV Turns Refinery Repair Effort To Puerto La Cruz
(Argus, 10.Dec.2020) — PdV has restarted a crude distillation unit at its 190,000 b/d Puerto La Cruz refinery for the first time since 2017, but as with the Venezuelan state-owned company’s other refinery repair efforts, expanding and sustaining operations remains a challenge. Atmospheric distillation unit 1 (DA-1) restarted gradually over […]
![NGOs Vital In Helping With Humanitarian Crisis [Video]](https://energy-analytics-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/NewsRoomHeaderRight-citgo.jpg)
NGOs Vital In Helping With Humanitarian Crisis [Video]
(Citgo, 10.Dec.2020) — NGOs and other private philanthropic groups are increasingly critical in helping address the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, according to three diverse panels of leading experts recently convened in Houston via webinar by the SimĂłn BolĂvar Foundation. Panelists from the international development and humanitarian relief sector pointed […]
Venezuela Oil Production To Average 600,000 b/d In 2021
(Energy Analytics Institute, 9.Dec.2020) — Crude oil production from OPEC member Venezuela is expected to average 600,000 barrels per day in 2021, according to new estimates revealed by Ecoanalitica. The Caracas-based economic consultancy also expects Venezuela’s oil basket price to average $37.50 per barrel in 2021. __________ By Piero Stewart. […]
US Applauds Interim Govt’s “People’s Vote”
(US State Department, 8.Dec.2020) — The United States continues to support Interim President Juan GuaidĂł, the National Assembly, and the Venezuelan people in their struggle to restore democracy in their country. From December 7 to 12, the Venezuelan people will have the opportunity to voice their opinion of the illegitimate […]
Chairman Risch On Fraud Elections In Venezuela
(US Senate, 7.Dec.2020) — US Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement on yesterday’s fraudulent congressional elections in Venezuela: “The Maduro regime’s dismantling of the National Assembly, the last remaining democratic institution in Venezuela, is shameful, but predictable. The absence of representative […]
Venezuelan Opposition Fills PdV Chair On Election Eve
(Argus, 7.Dec.2020) — Venezuela’s opposition-controlled National Assembly named another oil industry veteran to chair a shadow board of Venezuela’s national oil company PdV. The key appointment comes on the eve of tomorrow’s disputed National Assembly elections that are widely expected to cement the power of President Nicolas Maduro. The US-backed […]
Venezuela’s New Assembly To Battle Sanctions
(Argus, 7.Dec.2020) — Venezuela’s National Assembly elections yesterday thrust the Opec country’s last democratic institution under the thumb of President Nicolas Maduro, who has defied US oil sanctions for close to two years. The US-backed opposition led by Juan Guaido boycotted the elections, and abstention was estimated at around 80pc. […]
Venezuelans Vote In Legislative Election
(Al Jazeera, 6.Dec.2020) — Venezuelans voted on Sunday in legislative elections set to tighten President Nicolas Maduro’s grip on power and weaken his US-backed rival, Juan Guaido, who is leading a boycott of the polls he calls a fraud. Victory will give Maduro’s governing Socialist Party control of an expanded […]
Venezuela’s Parliamentary Election: Change Expected
(Energy Analytics Institute, 6.Dec.2020) — Venezuela’s National Assembly leader and Interim President Juan Guaido could be coming to the end of his short two-year reign this 6 December 2020 as the country its holds parliamentary election and selects a new leader to preside over the institution. Decisions by numerous factions […]
Heard Venezuela: Iranian Asset Takeovers
(Energy Analytics Institute, 5.Dec.2020) — Rumors are that Iranian businesspersons and their companies are in the process of taking over operations at Venezuela’s six refineries while also looking to do the same at petrol stations across the OPEC country. Venezuela’s state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) owns six refineries […]
Dems Statement Ahead Of Elections In Venezuela
(US Senate, 4.Dec.2020) — US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) issued the following statement denouncing the Maduro regime’s sham elections scheduled to take place on Sunday, December 6. “For nearly two years, world leaders have stood in solidarity with […]
New Buyers Spur Rise In Venezuela Oil Exports
(Reuters, 3.Dec.2020) — Venezuela’s oil exports almost doubled in November from the previous month as new customers linked to a Russian trading firm stepped in to boost purchases from state-run PDVSA amid U.S. sanctions, according to data from the firm and Refinitiv Eikon. In October, PDVSA’s established customers suspended swaps […]
Venezuela Eyes Oil Reform And Dialogue With US
(Reuters, 3.Dec.2020) — Venezuela’s ruling Socialist Party would consider reforming the country’s oil law if it retakes control of the legislature after the Dec. 6 election, Nicolas Maduro Guerra, son of the country’s president and a candidate for congress, said on Thursday. Maduro Guerra, 30, also said the government was […]
India Looks To Resume Iran, Venezuela Oil Imports
(Reuters, 2.Dec.2020) — India wants to diversify its oil imports, including the resumption of supplies from Iran and Venezuela, after U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes office, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday. India was the key buyer of Iranian and Venezuelan oil before slashing purchases after President Donald Trump […]
Venezuela Producing Around 450,000 b/d
(Energy Analytics Institute, 1.Dec.2020) — Venezuela is said to be producing around 450,000 barrels per day and exporting more with the assistance of Chinese and Russians companies lifting the South American country’s oil. Production could rise to at least 600,000 b/d in coming months, oil union official Ivan Freites told […]
Venezuela Crude Production, Exports Recover
(Argus, 1.Dec.2020) — Venezuelan state-owned PdV’s crude production and exports have recovered in recent weeks as China resumed direct loadings and a tanker deficit the company blames on US sanctions eased, according to PdV officials and internal reports seen by Argus. PdV’s crude exports jumped to around 500,000 b/d last […]
Venezuela Judge Convicts Citgo-6, Orders Prison
(AP, 27.Nov.2020) — Six American oil executives held for three years in Venezuela were found guilty of corruption charges by a judge Thursday and immediately sentenced to prison, dashing hopes of a quick release that would send them home to their families in the United States. Some relatives had been […]
Venezuela Resumes Direct Oil Shipments To China
(Reuters, 26.Nov.2020) — Venezuela has resumed direct shipments of oil to China after U.S. sanctions sent the trade underground for more than a year, according to Refinitiv Eikon vessel-tracking data and internal documents from state company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). Chinese state companies China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and PetroChina […]
Venezuela Briefs: Exchange Rate; PDVSA Isn’t Bankrupt
(Energy Analytics Institute, 25.Nov.2020) — Foreign exchange rate and energy related briefs from OPEC oil producer Venezuela related to the rising Bolivar currency as well as comments from President Nicolas Maduro about the financial standing of state oil producer Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). Venezuela Bolivar Dollar Exchange Rate at Bs. […]