(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 25.May.2020) — The Fortune Iranian fuel tanker reached Pier 4 of PDVSA’s El Palito Refinery located in Puerto Cabello in Carabobo state, announced Venezuela’s Economy Vice President Tareck El Aissami. The ship’s crew was welcomed by the Venezuelan official together with Iran’s Ambassador in Venezuela, […]
Category: Venezuela
Venezuela energy
Iranian Tanker Fortune Reaches Venezuela Waters
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 25.May.2020) — The first of five Iranian tankers carrying gasoline and fuel additives, Fortune, has made it to Venezuela’s Exclusive Economy Zone. The five tanker are carrying an estimated 1.5 million barrels of fuel. Venezuela’s Oil Minister and Economy Vice President Tareck El Aissami, announced […]
First Iranian Tanker Reaches El Palito Refinery
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 25.May.2020) — The first of five Iranian tankers carrying gasoline and additives for making fuel from Iran to Venezuela has reached the Caribbean country’s shores. The first tanker Fortune has reached El Palito Refinery, according to a Twitter post by Venezuela’s Economy Vice President Tareck […]
Maduro Thanks Iran For Tanker Shipments
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 24.May.2020) — Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro announced gratitude to the Iran Republic for the shipments of gasoline and fuel additives that began to arrive to the OPEC country. “The Fortune tanker arrived in Venezuela, the first of five ships that brings gasoline and supplies to […]
PdV’s Board Of Exiles Loses Two Technocrats
(Argus, 21.May.2020) — Two members of the parallel board of Venezuela’s national oil company PdV have resigned, a development that exposes brewing frustration in the exiled technical ranks of US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido. In a letter dated and made public today, the “ad hoc” board of the state-owned company […]
US Seeks Ways To Halt Iran’s Oil Sales To Venezuela
(Wall Street Journal, 20.May.2020) — The Trump administration is weighing new sanctions and other legal steps to disrupt Iranian oil exports to Venezuela, U.S. officials said, in response to what the U.S. considers the Islamic Republic’s attempts to make inroads into Latin America. The possibility of new U.S. sanctions and […]
PdV Restarts Coker For Export Via Cuba
(Argus, 20.May.2020) — State-owned PdV has partially restarted a 70,000 b/d delayed coker which had been off line for over a year at its 305,000 b/d Cardon refinery, three PdV and oil union officials said. Once the coking unit operations have stabilized, PdV plans to ship the coke to Cuban […]
Iran’s Oil Supply To Venezuela Eases Glut
(Argus, 19.May.2020) — Iran’s gasoline shipments to Venezuela are helping to ease a supply glut at home, where demand has collapsed because of strict measures to check the Covid-19 pandemic. The shipments and Tehran’s parallel support for Venezuelan state-owned PdV’s effort to repair its refining system have the added effect […]
US Court Declines To Hear Appeal In Crystallex Case
(Reuters, 18.May.2020) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Venezuela’s appeal of a lower court ruling allowing Canadian gold mining company Crystallex to seize shares in U.S. refiner Citgo to collect on an unpaid arbitration award. That meant a 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling from […]
Five Iran Tankers Sailing For Venezuela
(AP, 18.May.2020) — Five Iranian tankers likely carrying at least $45.5 million worth of gasoline and similar products are now sailing to Venezuela, part of a wider deal between the two U.S.-sanctioned nations amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington. The tankers’ voyage came after Venezuela’s socialist leader Nicolás Maduro […]
Venezuela Spurned By US Court In Citgo Clash
(Bloomberg, 18.May.2020) — The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Venezuela in its fight to retain control of oil refiner Citgo Holding Inc., putting the country a step closer to losing its largest asset. The justices, without comment on Monday, left intact a federal appeals court victory for a […]
PdV Keeps Nynas Board Seat After Restructuring
(Argus, 13.May.2020) — Venezuela’s state-owned PdV has retained one seat on the new corporate board of European specialty refiner Nynas after a restructuring that freed the venture from US sanctions. The new board composition illustrates PdV’s small but enduring role in the European downstream business that it acquired in the […]
Are Venezuelan Oil Exports Poised For A Comeback?
(Oilprice.com, 13.May.2020) — As the international community seeks answers with regards to the failed armed incursion into Venezuela that took place May 4, allegedly with the immediate participation of former US military veterans, President Maduro has once again proved to be a masterful survival artist. Notwithstanding the umpteenth round of […]
FBI Probes Firms Over Venezuela Oil Trading
(Reuters, 13.May.2020) — The FBI is probing several Mexican and European companies allegedly involved in trading Venezuelan oil as it gathers information for a U.S. Treasury Department inquiry into possible sanctions busting, according to four people familiar with the matter. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and special envoy for […]
Fuel Cargo Loaded At Iran Sets Sail To Venezuela
(Reuters, 13.May.2020) — At least one tanker carrying fuel loaded at an Iranian port set sail to crisis-stricken Venezuela, according to vessel tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon on Wednesday, which could help ease an acute scarcity of gasoline in the South American country. The Iran-flagged medium tanker Clavel earlier on […]
Nynas Exits US Sanctions
(Nynas, 12.May.2020) — The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) announced today that Nynas is no longer being blocked pursuant to the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations. As a result of a corporate restructuring of the ownership of Nynas AB sanctions are lifted, and US persons and companies no […]
Nynas: Removal Of Venezuela-related License
(OFAC, 12.May.2020) — The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is revoking and archiving on its website Venezuela-related General License (GL) 13E “Authorizing Certain Activities Involving Nynas AB,” and is issuing GL 3H (“Authorizing Transactions Related to, Provision of Financing for, and Other Dealings in Certain […]
PDVSA Allocates Oil Cargoes To Partner At Petrozamora
(Reuters, 12.May.2020) — A joint venture partner of state oil company PDVSA, GPB Global Resources BV, has received at least two cargoes of Venezuelan crude in recent months as part of a deal to settle pending debt from their Petrozamora project, according to two sources and a shipping document seen […]
Venezuelan Oil Plan Runs Aground
(Argus, 8.May.2020) — A sweeping proposal to draw investment into an Opec nation would normally turn some heads. That is what Venezuela’s US-backed political opposition had been expecting when it rolled out the final draft of a comprehensive hydrocarbons reform bill last week. But in the time it takes to […]
PdV Rolls Out New JV Presidents
(Argus, 4.May.2020) — Venezuela’s state-owned PdV rolled out the appointment of up to 26 new presidents of joint ventures that are mostly inactive. The appointments, some of whom may have been carryovers, are the latest manifestation of an industry shake-up led by new acting oil minister Tareck El Aissami. El […]
Venezuela Oil Output Sliding, Fields Shut Due To Fire
(Reuters, 4.May.2020) — Venezuela’s oilfields produced 687,000 barrels of crude last Saturday, up from 653,000 barrels on Friday but below the 718,000 barrels per day (bpd) the country said it produced in March, according to documents seen by Reuters on Monday. The drop came as output in the country’s Orinoco […]
PDV Holding And Aruba Govt To End Refinery Project
(PDV Holding, 1.May.2020) — PDV Holding, Inc., and the Government of Aruba/Refineria di Aruba (RDA) today executed an amicable termination agreement in relation to the contract for the San Nicolás Aruba Refinery Project. The agreement was completed following parliamentary approval. The final agreement provides that PDV Holdings and its subsidiaries […]
US Seeks To Investigate Mexico Oil-For-Food Pact
(Reuters, 29.Apr.2020) — The U.S. State Department, the Treasury Department and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico are investigating at least two Mexican firms involved in an oil-for-food pact signed in 2019 with Venezuela’s government, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. Mexico-based Libre Abordo and an affiliated company, Schlager Business Group, have […]
Is PDVSA Abandoning Its Socialist Agenda?
(Oilprice.com, 29.Apr.2020) — Venezuela seems to be changing tactics when it comes to managing its oil resources. PDVSA is considering a major industry reform that would increase private company activities in its troubled oil industry, according to a document seen by Reuters. This would be a far cry from its […]
Fire Reduces Venezuelan Heavy Crude Flow
(Reuters, 28.Apr.2020) — The latest fire to erupt at one of Venezuelan state-owned PdV’s oil installations has temporarily knocked out up to 130,000 b/d of heavy crude production from three of the firm’s joint ventures with foreign partners. PdV said today it has extinguished the blaze, which broke out on […]
PDVSA Proposes Selling Oil Assets To Private Sector
(Forbes, 28.Apr.2020) — In a total about-face on the “socialism” and “communism” and the Yankee-Go-Home attitude of the ruling Socialists United of Venezuela (PSUV), the country’s beleaguered and bankrupt oil firm PdVSA has apparently thrown in the towel. They think it’s a good idea that the closed economy starts selling […]
Venezuela Floats Lean PdV With Russia Unit
(Argus, 27.Apr.2020) — The two Maduro loyalists who have been effectively running Venezuela’s national oil industry for two months were officially appointed today as acting heads of the oil ministry and PdV, with a mandate to dismantle the company’s bloated Chavez-era organization in favor of a lean structure featuring a […]
Iran Ships Material To Help Repair PDVSA Refinery
(Reuters, 23.Apr.2020) — Venezuela has received refining materials via plane shipment from Iran to help it start the catalytic cracking unit at the 310,000 barrels-per-day Cardon refinery, which is necessary to produce gasoline, an official said on Thursday. The shipments mark a new stage in cooperation between the two OPEC […]
Venezuela’s Oil Output Could Fall Again Soon
(Oilprice.com, 23.Apr.2020) — On Tuesday, the Trump administration told the last remaining American oil companies in Venezuela that they had until December to wind down operations in the country. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a new license that only authorizes “limited maintenance of essential operations” […]
Chevron Barred From Drilling In Venezuela
(Reuters, 22.Apr.2020) — Chevron Corp has been banned from drilling or transporting oil in Venezuela and its assets there are “mothballed” as the Trump administration cracks down on money going to the government of socialist President Nicolas Maduro, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday. The restriction is expected to […]
Chevron In Effect Barred From Venezuela
(Bloomberg, 21.Apr.2020) — Chevron Corp. will be forced to effectively wind down its operations in Venezuela, dealing the Maduro regime’s crumbling oil industry another blow as U.S. President Donald Trump maneuvers for regime change in the Latin American nation. The U.S. Treasury Department will no longer allow the company to […]
Trump Tells Chevron To “Wind Down” In Venezuela
(AP, 21.Apr.2020) — The Trump administration on Tuesday ordered Chevron Corp. to “wind down” operations in Venezuela by Dec. 1, barring the California-based oil giant in the meantime from drilling or exporting, as the U.S. increases pressure on President Nicolás Maduro to give up power. Chevron is the last major […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Crisis Stricken Venezuela Faces Mounting Pressure
(Oilprice.com, 6.Apr.2020) — Over the past weeks, the Trump Administration has tightened the noose around Nicolas Maduro’s regime, increasing pressure on the country sitting on top of the world’s largest oil reserves. Venezuela is already reeling from a years-long economic disaster that has slashed its crude oil production in recent […]
Venezuela Launches Special Fuel Supply Plan
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 3.Apr.2020) — Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PetrĂłleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) activated a Special Fuel Supply Plan to counter a naval blockade by the US government, announced Venezuela’s Tareck El Aissami, president of the Presidential Commission “AlĂ RodrĂguez Araque” for the Defense, Restructuring and Reorganization […]
Venezuela Brushing Aside Oil Price Signals For Now
(Argus, 2.Apr.2020) — Venezuela’s crude production partially recovered to around 700,000 b/d at the end of March, but state-owned PdV and its foreign partners cannot afford to dismiss weaker price signals for much longer, according to industry officials inside and outside Venezuela. Output had slid to about 500,000 b/d in […]
Venezuela’s 1Q Oil Exports Fall 17% Over Year Ago
(Reuters, 2.Apr.2020) — Latin American nation’s average exports of crude and refined oil in March were the second lowest since United States imposed sanctions in January 2019. ***
Maduro Highlights Need To Stabilize Oil Market
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 31.Mar.2020) — Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro highlighted the importance of the agreements between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies (OPEC+), as well as the need to advance in rapprochements between the organization, Russia and Saudi Arabia. “I proposed the need to […]
Kremlin Fights US Sanctions, Backs Maduro
(Bloomberg, 30.Mar.2020) — The Kremlin’s sudden shift of ownership of multi-billion-dollar oil projects in Venezuela shields oil giant Rosneft PJSC from further U.S. sanctions but keeps Moscow firmly behind embattled President Nicolas Maduro amid a wider stand-off with Washington. “Russia is not walking away from Maduro and will seek to […]
Venezuela’s Oil Output Falls To Five-month Low
(Reuters, 30.Mar.2020) — Venezuela’s crude production ended last week at around 670,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to documents seen by Reuters and two people with access to output data, the lowest level in five months amid U.S. sanctions and falling global demand. The Orinoco oil belt, Venezuela’s largest producing […]
Rosneft’s Venezuelan Oil Loads Cancelled – Data
(Reuters, 28.Mar.2020) — Three large crude carriers (VLCCs) chartered by units of Russian oil major Rosneft to transport Venezuelan oil left Caribbean waters empty on Saturday after the cargoes were cancelled due to sanctions, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and a document from Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA. The vessels […]
Rosneft To Sell Venezuela Operations To Russian Gov’t
(S&P Global Platts, 28.Mar.2020) — Russia’s largest crude producer Rosneft said Saturday it is ceasing operations in Venezuela and selling all assets related to activities there. “Today [Saturday], Rosneft entered into an agreement with a company 100%-owned by the Russian government on the sale of shares and termination of its […]
Rosneft Sells Its Venezuelan Assets
(Rosneft, 28.Mar.2020) — Rosneft announces the termination of its operations in Venezuela and the disposal of its assets, related to operating in Venezuela. Today Rosneft concluded an agreement with the company 100% owned by the Government of Russian Federation, to sell all of its interest and cease participation in its […]
Falling LatAam Fuel Demand Leaves Hurt US Refiners
(Reuters, 27.Mar.2020) — Demand for refined products in Latin America is quickly drying up as the coronavirus pandemic worsens, leaving U.S. refiners without their primary export destination as the virus spreads. The crisis has nearly shut down worldwide air travel and is destroying fuel demand, which could fall by 15% […]
Citgo Foundation To Support Covid-19 Efforts In Venezuela
(Citgo, 26.Mar.2020) — The SimĂłn BolĂvar Foundation Inc. (SBF), the non-profit, private foundation of Citgo Petroleum Corporation, is launching a special round of its small grants program to help alleviate the damaging effects of the Covid-19 crisis in Venezuela. Non-profit organizations working in Venezuela are critical right now, given the […]