(Reuters, 3.Dec.2020) â 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 […]
Category: Venezuela
Venezuela energy
India Looks To Resume Iran, Venezuela Oil Imports
(Reuters, 2.Dec.2020) â 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) â 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 countryâs 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) â 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) â 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) â 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 Isnât Bankrupt
(Energy Analytics Institute, 25.Nov.2020) â 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. […]
Heard Venezuela: Falcon Oil Spill, Los Roques Buildout
(Energy Analytics Institute, 25.Nov.2020) â Heard on the street from Venezuela related to a supposed oil spill in Morrocoy National Park as well as word of commercial developments in Los Roques. Another Oil Spill In Falcon State Another oil spill is suspected off the coast of Morrocoy National Park in […]
Heard Venezuela: Oil Sales To Chevron
(Energy Analytics Institute, 24.Nov.2020) â Heard on the street in Venezuela related to the sale of Venezuelan oil to US based company Chevron Corporation. OFAC License To Sale Oil To Chevron Discussions are said ongoing between US and Venezuelan officials regarding a plan that would entail a special OFAC license […]
Venezuelan Union Leader Girot Detained
(Reuters, 19.Nov.2020) â Venezuelan authorities arrested oil workers’ union leader Eudis Girot, other union officials said on Thursday, as the government’s crackdown on dissent at troubled state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela continued. Girot, the executive director of the FUTPV union and an outspoken critic of PDVSA’s management, wrote in […]
Chevron Eyes Biden To Preserve Venezuela Foothold
(Bloomberg, 18.Nov.2020) â Chevronâs willingness to keep a foothold in oil-rich Venezuela will now be a thorny political issue for President-elect Joe Biden to sort out. The U.S. Treasury Department extended until June 3 its authorization for Chevron to carry out essential transactions in the country to preserve its assets, […]
Venezuela Supports Three Month Opec Extension
(Energy Analytics Institute, 17.Nov.2020) â Opec producer Venezuela continues to support a three month extension of production levels of 7.7 million barrels per day. âVenezuela ratifies its commitment to continue adopting the necessary decisions to guarantee the stability of the energy market,â Venezuelaâs state owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) announced […]
Slew Of Tankers Head Toward Venezuela
(Reuters, 11.Nov.2020) â At least 18 oil tankers are expected to load oil for export from Venezuela in the coming weeks, according to tracking data and internal documents from state-run PDVSA, in a sign the sanctioned OPEC nation’s crude exports may rebound this month. Venezuela’s oil exports fell to their […]
Venezuela Oil Exports Between 1999-2019
(Energy Analytics Institute, 10.Nov.2020) â Venezuela, home to the largest crude oil reserves and sizeable natural gas reserves, reported total oil exports of $984.9bn between 1999 and the first quarter of 2019, according to data from Venezuelan lawmaker Elias Matta. Table: Venezuela’s Oil Exports Year $bn 1999 $16.7 2000 $27.9 […]
60 Vehicles Dispatched To Paraguana Refining Complex
(Energy Analytics Institute, 9.Nov.2020) â Venezuelaâs state oil company PetrĂłleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) dispatched 60 vehicles to the ParaguanĂĄ Refining Center (CRP by its Spanish acronym), located in the state of FalcĂłn. The fleet is intended to strengthen CRPâs operations at both the 645,000 barrel per day capacity Amuay and […]
Venezuela Briefs: Black Mkt Gasoline; Diesel Demand
Energy briefs from Venezuela on prices for black market gasoline reaching $11.36/gal and refineries owned by PDVSA only producing enough diesel to cover 25% of domestic demand.
Does Venezuela Need A New Hydrocarbon Law? Webinar
(Energy Analytics Institute, 3.Nov.2020) â Does Venezuela need a new organic hydrocarbons law? Thatâs the question to be addressed on 5 November 2020 by four Venezuelan oil sector officials in a Zoom webinar. The panel will include Luis Pacheco, Francisco Monaldi, Luis Stefanelli and Elias Matta. __________ By Piero Stewart. […]
Case Against Venezuelaâs Oil Minister Hits Another Snag
(AP, 3.Nov.2020) â The prosecution of Venezuelaâs Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami for violating U.S. sanctions has run into another snag after a federal judge allowed one of his co-defendants to withdraw a guilty plea over allegations that U.S. attorneys withheld evidence in the case. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan on […]
Venezuela Oil Exports Fall to New Lows
(Reuters, 2.Nov.2020) â Venezuelaâs oil exports fell to a historic low of 359,000 barrels per day (bpd) in October as most of state-run PDVSAâs long-term clients paused trade to meet a U.S. deadline to halt business with the firm, according to data seen by Reuters on Monday. The United States […]
Maduro Condemns Amuay Attack, Blames Duque
(Energy Analytics Institute, 29.Oct.2020) â Venezuelaâs leader NicolĂĄs Maduro Moros says the Amuay refinery in Punto Fijo in FalcĂłn state was attacked by terrorist groups with backing from Colombia. âWhat has happened is something very serious, itâs an act by terrorist groups that IvĂĄn Duque is preparing from Colombia to […]
Maduro Says Amuay Hit By ‘Terrorist Tttack’
(Reuters, 28.Oct.2020) â Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday said the countryâs Amuay oil refinery was victim of a terrorist attack on Tuesday that involved a âpowerful weaponâ, but said the country had gasoline reserves equivalent to 20 days of consumption. An explosion hit a distillation unit at the 645,000 […]
Venezuela Eyes Oil Output Of 1.829 MMb/d in 2021
(Energy Analytics Institute, 24.Oct.2020) â Venezuelaâs oil minister Tareck El Aissami and PetrĂłleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) head AsdrĂșbal ChĂĄvez revealed plans to achieve a production goal of 1,829,000 barrels per day in 2021, according to data published by the daily Venezuelan newspaper Panorama. The officials also revealed an average budget […]
Sign of Venezuelaâs Oil Collapse Is Storage Surge
(Bloomberg, 23.Oct.2020) â Venezuelan crude inventories have surged 84% over the last three weeks as the threat of U.S. sanctions ward away buyers of the nationâs most important commodity. That raises the risk that state-run PDVSA will have to start shutting in production again, and is the latest sign that […]
Venezuela Briefs: LPG Shortage, Eni On Nabarima
(Energy Analytics Institute, 23.Oct.2020) â Energy briefs from Venezuela regarding ongoing shortages of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and Italyâs Eni submitting a proposal regarding the offloading of FSO Nabarima. Heard On The Street: Citizens Using Firewood An ongoing shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is widely used across Venezuela […]
Trinidad Briefs: Nabarima Stable, Budget Prices
(Energy Analytics Institute, 23.Oct.2020) â Energy briefs from Trinidad and Tobago related to an update on the status of the FSO Nabarima offshore Venezuela in the Gulf of Paria and commodity prices used in the 2021 budget. FSO Nabarima Stable, Not An Environmental Threat The FSO Nabarima located offshore Venezuela […]
PDVSAâs Cardon Refinery Halts Operations
(Energy Analytics Institute, 20.Oct.2020) â PetrĂłleos de Venezuelaâs Cardon refinery in Punto Fijo has once again halted operations. The stoppage impacts the recently restarted production of gasoline. âRefinery conditions are very worrying and the risk of accidents is very high,â oil union official Ivan Freites said 20 October 2020 in […]
Nabarima: Potential Oil Spill Larger Than Exxon-Valdez
(350.org, 20.Oct.2020) â While a record deluge of intensifying hurricanes hit the Caribbean and Gulf, many of the same communities are at risk of a slow-motion multi-million-gallon oil spill in the region, even larger than the infamous 1989 Exxon-Valdez spill which involved 10.8 million gallons. Amira Odeh, 350.org Caribbean and […]
Venezuela Needs To Rethink Oil: Luis Xavier Grisanti Says
(Energy Analytics Institute, 19.Oct.2020) â Faced with globalization and the scientific and technological revolution of the last quarter of a century, countries highly dependent on oil as the main source of income, such as Venezuela, must not only rethink rationally and effectively how to use the gigantic income derived from […]
US Embassy In Trinidad Concerned About Nabarima
(Energy Analytics Institute, 16.Oct.2020) â The US Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago expressed continued concerns about the potential risk to safety and environment posed by the Venezuelan-flagged vessel, Nabarima. The vessel is carrying around 1.2-1.3 million barrels and is located in Venezuelaâs Gulf of Paria. âWe strongly support immediate actions […]
Venezuela Economy To Shrink 25% In 2020: IMF
(Energy Analytics Institute, 13.Oct.2020) â Venezuela, home to the worldâs largest oil reserves and sizable natural gas and mineral deposits, is expected to be the worst performing economy in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region with its gross domestic product (GDP) projected to contract 25% in 2020, according to […]
US-Venezuela Dispute Delays Oil Storage Transfer
(Argus, 13.Oct.2020) â Italian Eni’s plan to drain a Venezuelan floating oil storage vessel considered a potential environmental risk has been delayed for weeks because of concerns over US sanctions on the Opec country. The Venezuela-flagged Nabarima floating storage and offloading unit (FSO) had been listing in August, with flooding […]
Iranian Fuel Supplies Good For Two Months
(Energy Analytics Institute, 12.Oct.2020) â The recent arrival of three Iranian tankers to Venezuela carrying around 750,000 bbls of gasoline is only sufficient to last the South American country about two months. Venezuela should at a minimum produce sufficient fuel to cover domestic demand, Eudis Girot, Executive Director with the […]
Former PDVSA Head Criticizes Anti-Blockade Law
(Energy Analytics Institute, 11.Oct.2020) â The former president of PetrĂłleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Rafael RamĂrez, criticized Venezuelaâs Anti-Blockade Law, which was approved by the countryâs National Constituent Assembly. âFor more than five years Iâve been denouncing the direction this government is going in terms the delivery of our oil, reversal […]
Partial Reactivation of PDVSAâs Amuay Refinery
(Energy Analytics Institute, 11.Oct.2020) â Venezuelaâs Amuay refinery is processing around 160,000 barrels per day (b/d) after reactivation of two plants, according to an oil union official with the Unitary Federation of Petroleum Workers of Venezuela (FUTPV by its Spanish acronym). The volumes correspond to Plant 1 with 65,000 b/d […]
Tipco To Temporarily Shut Kemaman Refinery
(Energy Analytics Institute, 11.Sep.2020) â At the request of the US State Department, Tipco Asphalt plans to temporarily shut down its refinery located in Kemaman, Malaysia. The refinery relies on Venezuelan heavy crude oil for 90% of its feedstock. To avoid US sanctions, the refinery âwill have to shut down […]
Fuel Shortages Persist Across Venezuela
(Energy Analytics Institute, 10.Oct.2020) â Venezuela continues to suffer from severe shortages of fuel from gasoline to diesel and across the entire country despite the recent arrival of three Iranian tankers with manly gasoline supplies. Fuel shortages continue across the OPEC-member country since the second shipment this year of Iranian […]
Iranian Tanker Departs For Persian Gulf From Venezuela
(Reuters, 9.Oct.2020) â An Iranian-flagged oil tanker left Venezuela on Friday for Iranâs Kharg Island, Refinitiv Eikon data showed, after the vessel loaded 1.9 million barrels of heavy crude at the South American countryâs Jose oil terminal. The shipment marks the latest example of cooperation between the two OPEC nations […]
PetroPiar and Sinovensa restart blending activities
CARACAS, VENEZUELA (Piero Stewart, Energy Analytics Institute, 8.Oct.2020, Words: 81) â Venezuelaâs state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) has reportedly restarted the PetroPiar and Sinovensa blending units, according to reports from local Venezuelan media El Nacional. The first joint venture, PetroPiar, which partners PDVSA and Chevron Corp., is reportedly […]
Venezuela, Once An Oil Giant, Reaches The End Of An Era
(NYT, 7.Oct.2020) â Wells that once tapped the worldâs largest crude reserves are abandoned or left to flare toxic gases that cast an orange glow over depressed oil towns. Refineries that once processed oil for export are rusting hulks, leaking crude that blackens shorelines and coats the water in an […]
Proposed Changes To Venezuela’s Organic Oil Law
(Energy Analytics Institute, 7.Oct.2020) â Venezuelaâs National Assembly has submitted proposed changes to the countryâs Organic Hydrocarbons Law, which it views as fundamental legislation and extremely important in any recovery of the hydrocarbon industry and economy, according to documents seen by Energy Analytics Institute. Proposed changes to the law are […]
PdV Pins Gasoline Hopes On CRP Complex
(Argus, 6.Oct.2020) â Venezuelan state-owned PdV is focusing on repairs to its 940,000 b/d CRP refining complex to address a severe gasoline shortage that has been temporarily alleviated by Iranian imports. The 305,000 b/d Cardon refinery, which together with the nearby 635,000 b/d Amuay refinery makes up the CRP, is […]
Three Iranian Tankers Make It To Venezuela
(Energy Analytics Institute, 5.Oct.2020) â The third and final Iranian tanker, part of a three-tanker flotilla, docked in Venezuela over the weekend with much needed gasoline supplies for the struggling OPEC country. The three Iranian-flagged tankers â Faxon, Forest and Fortune â are estimated to have transported around 250,000 bbls […]
Venezuela Aims To Reopen Some 1,571 Petrol Stations
(Energy Analytics Institute, 5.Oct.2020) â Venezuela plans to initiate activities at 1,571 petrol stations across the country starting 5 October 2020 as part of a plan to normalize fuel distribution and marketing. All petrol stations must be active and able to supply fuel including stations with international prices, announced state […]
Maduro Drafts Bill To Expand Powers For Oil Deals
(Reuters, 1.Oct.2020) â Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has drafted legislation to grant his government expanded powers to confidentially sign new oil deals with private firms and foreign nations as a way of getting around U.S. sanctions, according to the proposal and people familiar with the initiative. Maduro delivered the “anti-blockade” […]
Reliance Buys Canadian Oil To Offset Venezuelan Oil
(Reuters, 1.Oct.2020) â Reliance Industries has agreed to purchase 2 million barrels of Canadian heavy crude per month, three industry sources said, as a substitute for dwindling Venezuelan supply. The deal, large for Canada, shows how global buyers are scrambling for new sources of heavy oil. Venezuelaâs production has collapsed […]
First Iranian Tanker Enters Venezuelan Waters
(Reuters, 28.Sep.2020) â The first of a group of three tankers carrying Iranian fuel for gasoline-starved Venezuela entered the waters of the South American nation on Monday, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, in the most recent sign of the countries’ expanding trade. The two OPEC members have increased cooperation this […]
US Pressed For Firm Stance In Venezuelan Bond Case
(Law360, 25.Sep.2020) â A New York federal judge on Friday grilled a lawyer representing the U.S. government on whether she should defer to Venezuelan’s denunciation of the some $1.68 billion in bonds, even as she acknowledged later that it would be a “very harsh result” to deny the bondholders what […]
US Updates On Iran And Venezuela Designations
(US Department of Treasury, 24.Sep.2020) â The state department updates on Iran-related and Venezuela-related designations in todayâs press release. SPECIALLY DESIGNATED NATIONALS LIST UPDATE The following individuals have been added to OFAC’s SDN List: SADATI, Seyyed Mahmoud (Arabic: ŰłÛŰŻ Ù ŰÙ ÙŰŻ ۳ۧۯۧŰȘÛ), Shiraz, Iran; DOB 1958; alt. DOB 1959; POB Estahaban, […]
Venezuela Producing 345,000 B/D: Oil Official Freites Says
(Energy Analytics Institute, 23.Sep.2020) â Crude oil production in Venezuela, home to arguably the worldâs largest oil reserves, has fallen to around 345,000 barrels per day (b/d), according to comments from oil union official Ivan R. Freites. Venezuelaâs production is down from around 3.3 million barrels per day (MMb/d) in […]
US Treasury Updates Venezuela, Iran Designations
(Energy Analytics Institute, 22.Sep.2020) â The US Department of Treasury released details regarding Venezuela-related designations as well as providing a designation update. Treasury also provided an Iran-related designation update. The following individuals have been added to OFAC’s SDN List: BENAVIDES RONDON, Williams Jose, Venezuela; DOB 04 Apr 1981; POB Guanipa, […]